Oil Pipeline Spills 21 Thousand Gallons Off California Coast

Fact checked
Oil Pipeline Spills 21 Thousand Gallons Off California Coast

The US coast guard said that 21 thousand gallons of crude oil spilled into the ocean before it was shut off on Tuesday, creating a slick stretching about 4 miles along the central California coastline. Crews were flying overhead to assess the damage.

The rupture on an 11-mile-long underground pipe, part of a larger oil transport network centered in Kern County, was first reported about noon Tuesday after a woman at Refugio State Beach in Goleta smelled the crude’s noxious fumes.

It is not yet known what caused of the break in the oil pipeline. Officials are still trying to assess the environmental damage, which sent oil onto area beaches.

ABC News report

The pipeline was shut off about three hours later but by then the slick stretched four miles and 50 yards into the water.

The 24-inch pipeline is owned by Plains All American Pipeline, which said it shut down the flow of oil and the culvert carrying the oil to the ocean was blocked.

“Plains deeply regrets this release has occurred and is making every effort to limit its environmental impact,” the company said in a statement.

The Coast Guard, county emergency officials and state parks officials were cleaning up the spill. Boats from the nonprofit collective Clean Seas also were providing help but were having trouble because so much of the oil was so close to the shore, Coast Guard spokeswoman Jennifer Williams said. About 850 gallons of oil have been recovered from the water, Williams said.

The accident occurred on the same stretch of coastline as a 1969 spill that at the time was the largest ever in U.S. waters and is credited for giving rise to the American environmental movement. Several hundred thousand gallons spilled from a blowout on an oil platform and thousands of sea birds were killed along with many marine mammals.

The stretch of coastline about 20 miles northwest of the pricey real estate of Santa Barbara still is home to offshore oil rigs and small amounts of tar and seepage regularly show up on beaches.

The spill is largest in years and the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center said to have it occur in “a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating to watch.” The group expressed special worry for the many species of whale that migrate through the area.

It was unclear how long the cleanup would take and whether Refugio and other areas would be reopened in time for Memorial Day weekend.

Offshore cleanup was suspended for the night, and the Coast Guard said a morning flyover would allow them to get a better sense of the damage.

Be the first to comment

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published.




This site uses Akismet to reduce spam. Learn how your comment data is processed.