I was thinking the same thing, but from a PR perspective, getting caught helps normalize the obscenity.

30 million gallons and it's a "mistake." Next time it'll be 25 million and hey, at least that's not as bad. After that it'll be 40 million and it's "sure that's a lot but not too much more than usual. Besides you took a shower this morning so Both Sides amirite? Now let me explain in little words how condensation works..."

there were no consequences for exceeding peak limits

imo, that's the lesson. I mean you're probably right, but our Lords and Masters are super performative about their resource extraction grabs.