oil spill The 2011 Little Buffalo oil spill was one of the largest land-based oil spills in North America, the largest oil spill in Alberta in 36 years, and the second spill in Alberta within a two-week period. The Rainbow Pipeline system, owned by Plains Midstream Canada, ruptured on April 29, 2011, spilling 28,000 barrels of oil in a fairly isolated stretch of boreal forest in northern Alberta, about four miles from the nearest homes in Little Buffalo, Alberta. The local school was closed due to concerns about the effects of fumes. The incident resulted in charges against the company in 2013. In 2013, the Energy Resources Conservation Board of Alberta reprimanded the company for operational failures in connection with the oil spill. Rangeland Pipeline Incident Heavy rains in early June 2012 caused a leak on a 46-year-old Plains Midstream Canada pipeline at Jackson Creek, Alberta, a tributary of the Red Deer River, which spilled approximately 1,000-3,000 barrels of light sour crude into the Red Deer River. The company was charged in 2014. Refugio oil spill On May 19, 2015, a pipeline operated by the company ruptured northwest of Santa Barbara, California. Within 24 hours, oil polluted approximately 9 miles of the Santa Barbara coast. The spill shut down the popular El Capitán State Beach and Campground during Memorial Day weekend, just prior to the beginning of the summer high season. The spill leaked , including that reached the Pacific Ocean. The United States House Committee on Energy and Commerce opened an investigation into the oil spill on June 25, 2015. Companies are required to report to the National Response Center on the release of hazardous-material "at the earliest practicable moment."; however, the company did not initially report the spill. According to preliminary findings of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration released in June 2015, corrosion had worn a pipeline section to less than an inch thick. By June 2015 the cost of cleanup rose to USD$92 million. Santa Barbara County firefighters were among the first to discover the spill, before being notified by the company, and they "built a rim of rocks to prevent oil from running to the shoreline." In March 2020, the company agreed to pay over $60 million in penalties related to the incident. Byhalia Connection pipeline In December 2019, the company announced a joint venture with Valero Energy Corp. to build the Byhalia