Chevron to pay $13M in fines for Kern County oil spills
Chevron has agreed to pay more than $13 million in fines to two state agencies for oil spills in Kern County, including a 2019 oil spill that dumped nearly 800,000 gallons of crude oil and water into a creek bed 35 miles west of Bakersfield.
The California energy giant will pay $5.6 million to the state’s Department of Conservation for the 2019 spill and $7.5 million to the state’s Department of Fish and Wildlife for over 70 smaller spills that occurred in Kern County between 2018 and 2023, officials said Wednesday. The fine is the largest assessed by the Department of Conservation and the largest administrative fine in the DFW’s history, officials said.
Chevron has already paid for the cost to clean up the damage caused by the oil spill, and the money will go toward other initiatives, which include efforts to plug old, orphaned wells, and to DFW’s program for spill and prevention response, according to state officials.
The 2019 oil spill occurred in an oil field where Chevron used a process known as steam injection to extract crude oil from under the surface, the Los Angeles Times reported. The spills killed or injured at least 63 animals and impacted salt brush, grassland habitats and more than 20,000 linear feet of streambed, state officials said.
Here’s the complete financial breakdown of how the fine money will be used:
• $5.6 million will go to California to use to plug old, orphaned wells statewide.
• $6.8 million will go to the DFW’s environmental enhancement fund, which provides grants for projects that acquire habitats for preservation or habitat improvement.
• $500,000 will go to UC Davis’ Oiled Wildlife Care Network, which was created to help wildlife affected by oil.
• $200,000 will be allocated to DFW’s pollution account and will be available to use to fund resources for future oil spills.
“California remains committed to protecting the state’s diverse and irreplaceable natural resources, so they can be enjoyed by current and future generations,” Department of Fish and Wildlife Director Charlton Bonham said in a statement Wednesday. “This settlement is a testament to our firm stance that we will hold businesses strictly liable for oil spills that enter our waterways and pollute our environment.”