A federal jury found a supervisor on BP's doomed Deepwater Horizon oil rig not guilty of Clean Water Act violations Thursday.
Robert Kaluza, a day supervisor on the rig when it exploded in April 2010 and sparked the worst offshore oil spill in U.S. history, faced one misdemeanor charge that could have carried up to one year in prison.
The Associated Press, however, reported that the jury reached a verdict after less than two hours.
"We're just pleased and thankful," Shaun Clarke, Kaluza's attorney, said after the verdict.
Prosecutors argued that Kaluza ignored tests that should have indicated abnormal conditions on the rig prior to the explosion, which killed 11 workers.
Kaluza's attorney, however, said that his client was on the Deepwater Horizon on a temporary basis and left the decision to a more experienced night supervisor. He also blamed BP and the rig's owner for putting off required maintenance.
The night supervisor, Donald Vidrine, pleaded guilty to the same charge and testified for prosecutors in Kaluza's case. His sentencing is scheduled for April; prosecutors recommended 10 months’ probation.
The two supervisors originally faced manslaughter charges over the deaths of the rig workers, but those were eventually whittled down to the misdemeanor charges.
Most other BP executives and employees implicated in the disaster were acquitted or reached plea bargains.
The oil giant itself will pay the largest civil settlement in U.S. history over the spill.