Environmental activists to protest Dodgers' home opener over partnership with embattled oil company

Opening day for the Los Angeles Dodgers will be met with protesters on Thursday afternoon after a group of environmental activists signed a petition to call for an end to the team’s controversial partnership with an oil-and-gas company. 

The "Dodgers Fans Against Fossil Fuels" protest will be held outside Dodger Stadium beginning two hours before first pitch to demand that team owner Mark Walter cut ties with Phillips 66, a Texas-based company that was indicted in November over allegations that it had discharged hundreds of thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater into the Los Angeles County sewer system

"A federal grand jury has indicted Phillips 66, owner of the 76 gas-station brand whose logo is displayed across Dodger Stadium, for allegedly sending thousands of gallons of water contaminated with oil and grease into LA County's sewer system," a press release from The Climate Reality Project’s Los Angeles chapter read.  

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"The company is accused of knowingly and negligently violating the Clean Water Act." 

In a petition signed by more than 27,000 people, activists called on Walter to "immediately end" their sponsorship deal with Phillips 66, which called the partnership "greenwashing of the worst kind."

The U.S. Department of Justice announced a six-count indictment in November alleging that Phillips 66 had violated the Clean Water Act by dumping "hundreds of thousands of gallons of industrial wastewater from its Carson oil refinery into the Los Angeles County sewer system." The company was also accused of failing to report those violations. 

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The charges stem from an incident on Nov. 24, 2020. According to the U.S. Attorney’s Office for the Central District of California, Phillips 66 allegedly discharged an estimated 310,000 gallons of "non-compliant industrial wastewater" into the sewer system during a 2.5-hour window. 

The wastewater was believed to contain approximately 64,000 pounds of oil and grease.

In a separate incident on Feb. 8, 2021, another 480,000 gallons were believed to have been discharged into the sewer system. 

Fox News Digital reached out to the Dodgers for comment.

Earlier this month, California State Senate Majority Leader Lena Gonzalez also called for the Dodgers to end their partnership with Phillips 66. 

"Ending the sponsorship with Phillips 66 would send the message that it’s time to end our embrace of polluting fossil fuels and work together towards a cleaner, greener future," Gonzalez’s letter to Walter read. 

The Dodgers will open the season Thursday at home against the Detroit Tigers.

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