Berry Petroleum announces settlement of McGrath Lake 1993 oil release case.TAFT, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Jan. 23, 1997--Berry Petroleum Co. (NYSE NYSE See: New York Stock Exchange :BRY) Thursday announced that it has reached a settlement with the federal government and the state of California for civil damages and penalties arising from the December 1993 oil release at McGrath Lake in Ventura County, Calif. "We are pleased that we have reached an agreement with the federal and state governments to settle this matter," said Jerry Hoffman, president and chief executive officer of Berry Petroleum. "We believe that it is time to put this unfortunate incident behind us and concentrate on the future." The settlement agreement, known as a consent decree A settlement of a lawsuit or criminal case in which a person or company agrees to take specific actions without admitting fault or guilt for the situation that led to the lawsuit. A consent decree is a settlement that is contained in a court order. , is being filed Thursday with the United States District Court United States District Court In the U.S., any of the 94 trial courts of general jurisdiction in the federal judicial system. Each state, as well as the District of Columbia and the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, has at least one federal district court. in Los Angeles. Parties to the agreement include Berry Petroleum, the federal government through the United States Department of Justice “Justice Department” redirects here. For other uses, see Department of Justice. The United States Department of Justice (DOJ) is a Cabinet department in the United States government designed to enforce the law and defend the interests of the United States , and the state of California through the California Attorney General The California Attorney General is the State Attorney General of the government of the state of California in the USA. The officer's duty is to ensure that "the laws of the state are uniformly and adequately enforced" (California Constitution, Article V, Section 13. . All federal and state agencies that asserted jurisdiction in the case are participating in the settlement, including the United States Fish & Wildlife Service, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration Noun 1. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration - an agency in the Department of Commerce that maps the oceans and conserves their living resources; predicts changes to the earth's environment; provides weather reports and forecasts floods and hurricanes and , the United States Coast Guard United States Coast Guard U.S. military service that enforces maritime laws. It is under the jurisdiction of the Department of Homeland Security; in wartime it functions as part of the U.S. Navy. The Coast Guard enforces federal laws on the high seas and waters within U.S. , the United States Environmental Protection Agency "EPA" redirects here. For other uses see EPA (disambiguation) and Environmental Protection Agency. The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA or sometimes USEPA , The California Department of Fish and Game/Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response, the California Department of Parks and Recreation The California Department of Parks and Recreation manages the California state parks system, which contains 280 parks and 1.4 million acres (5,700 km²), with over 280 miles of coastline; 625 miles of lake and river frontage; nearly 15,000 campsites; and 3,000 miles of hiking, , the California Regional Water Quality Control Board (Los Angeles Region) and the California State Lands Commission. Several of these agencies are considered "trustee agencies," designed with responsibility for protection of natural resources affected by the December 1993 release. The agreement requires Berry Petroleum to pay approximately $3.2 million to federal and state agencies for response and assessment costs, civil damages and penalties arising from the oil release. Funds are to be distributed among the various agencies, in large part for restoration projects in the McGrath Lake area. Berry will deposit approximately $1.3 million of the $3.2 million into a trust fund to finance undertaking of these projects by the California Department of Fish and Game, the California Department of Parks and Recreation, and the United States Fish & Wildlife Service. As part of the settlement, Berry Petroleum will admit no liability. Hoffman added: "The company has received reimbursement under its insurance policy for approximately $2.3 million of the settlement amount. The settlement will have no negative impact on the company's income statement as previous accruals for the settlement are adequate. Through the settlement date, the company has received approximately $10.9 million under its insurance coverage as reimbursement for costs incurred by the company associated with the spill." Berry Petroleum is a publicly traded independent oil and gas production and exploration company with its headquarters in Taft. CONTACT: Berry Petroleum Co., Taft Jerry V. Hoffman or Ralph J. Goehring, 805/769-8811 |
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