"Plains All American Pipeline Indicted In Santa Barbara Oil Spill"

"A Houston-based pipeline company has been indicted in California on 46 criminal charges stemming from a major oil spill last year that forced beach closures and fouled miles of shoreline near Santa Barbara, prosecutors said on Tuesday.

The indictment returned by a Santa Barbara County grand jury on Monday accuses Plains All American Pipeline LP of four felonies, including knowingly discharging a pollutant into state waters, county District Attorney Joyce Dudley told a news conference.

The bulk of the remaining 42 misdemeanor counts contained in the indictment relate to wildlife losses blamed on the May 19, 2015, rupture of an oil pipeline that federal inspectors have found was badly worn by corrosion, officials said."

Steve Gorman and Dan Whitcomb report for Reuters May 17, 2016.