VENTURA : Shell Western Settles Oil Spills Lawsuit

Shell Western E&P; Inc. “reluctantly agreed” to settle a civil lawsuit filed by the Ventura County district attorney over a series of oil spills, company officials said.

Without admitting wrongdoing, Shell officials agreed to pay $95,000 in fines and penalties for four spills at its Ventura Avenue oil field since May 5, 1993.

“The reluctance has to do with the terms of the settlement,” Shell spokeswoman Susan Hersberger said. “We were very disappointed the authorities apparently did not take into account the minor extent and nature of the spills nor the company’s immediate action and thorough response.”

Hersberger said the spills left “no lasting impact on the environment.”

Deputy Dist. Atty. Christopher S. Harman agreed that little permanent environmental damage occurred, but said the spills still violated state law.

“We consider these spills serious because a number of them occurred over a short period of time,” he said. “When oil actually gets in the water, that’s a serious matter.”

The largest of the four spills occurred when a tank overflowed Jan. 25 and 473 barrels of oil and water escaped, some of it reaching a dry creek that led to the Ventura River. The most recent occurred Aug. 10 when a pipeline burst and 21 barrels of oil and water poured into Diablo Canyon Creek.

“Shell responded promptly and fully cleaned up each spill,” Harman said. But he said the district attorney insisted on filing the lawsuit “to let (Shell) know this is unacceptable.”

The Ventura County Fish and Wildlife Propagation Fund and the California Department of Fish and Game’s Preservation Fund will split $80,000 of the fines. Shell officials also agreed to pay the district attorney $7,000 for investigation costs and $8,000 to the California District Attorneys Assn. for use in its environmental enforcement program.

Hersberger said Shell agreed to settle to “avoid costly and uncertain litigation.”