California oil spill: Dead birds and fish wash up on Huntington Beach, officials say
By Alta Spells, Holly Yan and Amir Vera, CNN
A swath of the Southern California coast is covered with oil after 3,000 barrels' worth gushed into the Pacific Ocean -- devastating some of the local wildlife, officials said.
By Alta Spells, Holly Yan and Amir Vera, CNN
A swath of the Southern California coast is covered with oil after 3,000 barrels' worth gushed into the Pacific Ocean -- devastating some of the local wildlife, officials said.
© KCAL/KCBS The oil has spread between Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, officials said.
A pipeline breach occurred about 5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said Sunday.
"We've started to find dead birds and fish washing up on the shore," Foley said.
"The oil has infiltrated the entirety of the (Talbert) Wetlands. There's significant impacts to wildlife there," she said. "These are wetlands that we've been working with the Army Corps of Engineers, with the Land Trust, with all the community wildlife partners to make sure to create this beautiful, natural habitat for decades. And now in just a day, it's completely destroyed."
A total of 1,218 gallons of oily water mixture have been recovered from the spill, the United States Coast Guard said in a statement.
"This response is currently a 24/7 operation and response efforts are scheduled to continue until federal and state officials determine that the response to the crude oil spill is complete," the USCG statement read.
It said that one oiled Ruddy duck has been collected and is receiving veterinary care and other reports of oiled wildlife are being investigated.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Twitter that it's sending investigators to gather information and assess the source of the oil spill. CNN has reached out to the NTSB for further details.
The pipeline is owned by the Houston-based oil and gas company Amplify Energy, its president and CEO Martyn Willsher said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
"We are fully committed to being out here until this incident is fully concluded," Willsher said, adding the company is working with numerous local, state and federal agencies on recovery efforts.
"Our employees live and work in these communities, and we're all deeply impacted and concerned about the impact on not just the environment, but the fish and wildlife as well," Willsher said. "We will do everything in our power to ensure that this is recovered as quickly as possible, and we won't be done until this is concluded."
An oil sheen was first reported to the US Cost Guard shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the Coast Guard said in a press release.
"It's probably been leaking longer than we know," Foley told CNN Sunday.
Willsher said his company notified the Coast Guard Saturday morning when employees were conducting a line inspection and they noticed a sheen in the water.
The spill -- equal to about 126,000 gallons of post-production crude -- is a "potential ecological disaster," Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said Saturday.
As of Sunday morning, "the leak has not been completely stopped," the city of Huntington Beach said in a press release. It said preliminary patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site, and additional repair efforts will be attempted.
"Currently, the oil slick plume measures an estimated 5.8 nautical miles long, and runs from the Huntington Beach Pier down into Newport Beach," the press release said.
A sand berm is being built to protect the Talbert Channel from the oil spill washing ashore in Huntington Beach.
"The oil has already infiltrated many of our wetlands in Huntington Beach in the Talbert area, and we want to do everything we can to prevent it from intruding into that area even further," Foley said.
Willsher told reporters Sunday the facilities operating the pipeline were built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Amplify has owned the pipeline for about nine years. There are about 17.5 miles between the pipeline and shore, Willsher said.
"It is about 4 ½ miles off shore where the potential source of the leak occurred. It is heavy crude oil that is pumped through that pipeline," he said.
The Coast Guard has classified the situation as a major oil spill, Huntington Beach Marine Safety Chief Eric McCoy said.
Huntington Beach officials canceled the final day of the Pacific Airshow and are encouraging people to stay away from the Santa Ana River Trail, Talbert Park and Talbert Marsh areas and the beaches in the impacted areas to prevent contact with potentially toxic oiled areas.
Foley urged residents to avoid the area.
"Please don't go down and try to help. We're not taking volunteers yet," she said. "If you do see oiled wildlife call 1-877-823-6926. That's the best way to help."
A pipeline breach occurred about 5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said Sunday.
"We've started to find dead birds and fish washing up on the shore," Foley said.
"The oil has infiltrated the entirety of the (Talbert) Wetlands. There's significant impacts to wildlife there," she said. "These are wetlands that we've been working with the Army Corps of Engineers, with the Land Trust, with all the community wildlife partners to make sure to create this beautiful, natural habitat for decades. And now in just a day, it's completely destroyed."
A total of 1,218 gallons of oily water mixture have been recovered from the spill, the United States Coast Guard said in a statement.
"This response is currently a 24/7 operation and response efforts are scheduled to continue until federal and state officials determine that the response to the crude oil spill is complete," the USCG statement read.
It said that one oiled Ruddy duck has been collected and is receiving veterinary care and other reports of oiled wildlife are being investigated.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Twitter that it's sending investigators to gather information and assess the source of the oil spill. CNN has reached out to the NTSB for further details.
The pipeline is owned by the Houston-based oil and gas company Amplify Energy, its president and CEO Martyn Willsher said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
"We are fully committed to being out here until this incident is fully concluded," Willsher said, adding the company is working with numerous local, state and federal agencies on recovery efforts.
"Our employees live and work in these communities, and we're all deeply impacted and concerned about the impact on not just the environment, but the fish and wildlife as well," Willsher said. "We will do everything in our power to ensure that this is recovered as quickly as possible, and we won't be done until this is concluded."
An oil sheen was first reported to the US Cost Guard shortly after 9 a.m. Saturday morning, the Coast Guard said in a press release.
"It's probably been leaking longer than we know," Foley told CNN Sunday.
Willsher said his company notified the Coast Guard Saturday morning when employees were conducting a line inspection and they noticed a sheen in the water.
The spill -- equal to about 126,000 gallons of post-production crude -- is a "potential ecological disaster," Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said Saturday.
As of Sunday morning, "the leak has not been completely stopped," the city of Huntington Beach said in a press release. It said preliminary patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site, and additional repair efforts will be attempted.
"Currently, the oil slick plume measures an estimated 5.8 nautical miles long, and runs from the Huntington Beach Pier down into Newport Beach," the press release said.
A sand berm is being built to protect the Talbert Channel from the oil spill washing ashore in Huntington Beach.
"The oil has already infiltrated many of our wetlands in Huntington Beach in the Talbert area, and we want to do everything we can to prevent it from intruding into that area even further," Foley said.
Willsher told reporters Sunday the facilities operating the pipeline were built in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Amplify has owned the pipeline for about nine years. There are about 17.5 miles between the pipeline and shore, Willsher said.
"It is about 4 ½ miles off shore where the potential source of the leak occurred. It is heavy crude oil that is pumped through that pipeline," he said.
The Coast Guard has classified the situation as a major oil spill, Huntington Beach Marine Safety Chief Eric McCoy said.
Huntington Beach officials canceled the final day of the Pacific Airshow and are encouraging people to stay away from the Santa Ana River Trail, Talbert Park and Talbert Marsh areas and the beaches in the impacted areas to prevent contact with potentially toxic oiled areas.
Foley urged residents to avoid the area.
"Please don't go down and try to help. We're not taking volunteers yet," she said. "If you do see oiled wildlife call 1-877-823-6926. That's the best way to help."
© Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Oil settles on the beach Sunday in Huntington Beach, California.
© Patrick T. Fallon/AFP/Getty Images
Boats help clean the oil spill near Huntington Beach on Sunday.
Size of California oil spill called 'worst case' scenario in 2012 pipeline operator report
David Douglas and Tim Stelloh and Yuliya Talmazan
A 2012 plan prepared by the operator of an offshore oil pipeline that may have dumped thousands of barrels of oil off Southern California described such a spill as a “worst case” scenario that could cause “substantial harm.”
The plan produced by Beta Offshore and obtained by NBC News said that a full cut in the pipeline three miles from shore could release roughly 3,000 barrels, or 126,000 gallons, of oil.
Such a leak could cause “significant and substantial harm to the environment” because “of its proximity to navigable waters and adjoining shoreline areas designated as environmentally sensitive.”
Officials said that roughly 126,000 gallons of oil appeared to have spilled off the coast of Orange County over the weekend, creating a 13-square-mile slick near the cities of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. The chief executive of Beta Offshore’s parent company, Amplify Energy, said divers were investigating a potential source of the leak roughly four miles from shore.
Amplify Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the 2012 plan.
David Douglas and Tim Stelloh and Yuliya Talmazan
A 2012 plan prepared by the operator of an offshore oil pipeline that may have dumped thousands of barrels of oil off Southern California described such a spill as a “worst case” scenario that could cause “substantial harm.”
The plan produced by Beta Offshore and obtained by NBC News said that a full cut in the pipeline three miles from shore could release roughly 3,000 barrels, or 126,000 gallons, of oil.
Such a leak could cause “significant and substantial harm to the environment” because “of its proximity to navigable waters and adjoining shoreline areas designated as environmentally sensitive.”
Officials said that roughly 126,000 gallons of oil appeared to have spilled off the coast of Orange County over the weekend, creating a 13-square-mile slick near the cities of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach. The chief executive of Beta Offshore’s parent company, Amplify Energy, said divers were investigating a potential source of the leak roughly four miles from shore.
Amplify Energy did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the 2012 plan.
© Provided by NBC News Image: (Ringo H.W. Chiu / AP)
The company’s chief executive, Martyn Willsher, said at a news conference Sunday that the pipeline had been shut down and suctioned. But local officials said the damage may have already been done.
“We’ve started to find dead birds & fish washing up on the shore," Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley tweeted.
Yet only one animal was officially confirmed to have been injured in the spill, a duck found covered in oil, said a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Other reports of dead and injured wildlife were being investigated, he said.
Foley said she visited the area Sunday and felt the sting of vapor in the air.
“My throat hurt,” she said at a news conference.
Foley described seeing small clusters of oil along the shoreline that she compared to egg yolk. She pleaded with residents to stay away from the area and not disturb the oil clumps.
County health officials warned residents to be aware of dizziness, headaches and other side effects that exposure to an oil spill can cause. Some sections of the coastline in Huntington Beach were closed Sunday, and the city said in a statement that the spill had "substantial ecological impacts" on the shoreline and wetlands.
The spill forced the city to cancel the final day of its Pacific Airshow because, and skimming equipment and booms were deployed to prevent the flow of oil into ecologically sensitive areas, it said in a statement.
Miyoko Sakashita, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s oceans program, said the spill was a tragic reminder of the devastating threat offshore drilling can pose.
“I’ve seen the aging oil platforms off Huntington Beach up close, and I know it’s past time to decommission these time bombs,” she said. “Even after fines and criminal charges, the oil industry is still spilling and leaking into California’s coastal waters because these companies just aren’t capable of operating safely.”
Californians have been particularly wary of offshore oil spills since the disastrous leak off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969, when images of birds and other wildlife covered in heavy black gunk helped spark the modern environmental movement.
Willsher said the pipeline is connected to a processing platform 17.5 miles off the coast. The platform is one of three in the area owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy, Willshir said. They were built in the 1970s and ‘80s and have been owned by the company for nine years, he said.
The pipeline is inspected every other year and has been “meticulously maintained,” he said, adding that the most recent inspection occurred last week. The pipeline’s capacity is 126,000 gallons, and Willsher said he did not expect anymore leakage.
The company’s chief executive, Martyn Willsher, said at a news conference Sunday that the pipeline had been shut down and suctioned. But local officials said the damage may have already been done.
“We’ve started to find dead birds & fish washing up on the shore," Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley tweeted.
Yet only one animal was officially confirmed to have been injured in the spill, a duck found covered in oil, said a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. Other reports of dead and injured wildlife were being investigated, he said.
Foley said she visited the area Sunday and felt the sting of vapor in the air.
“My throat hurt,” she said at a news conference.
Foley described seeing small clusters of oil along the shoreline that she compared to egg yolk. She pleaded with residents to stay away from the area and not disturb the oil clumps.
County health officials warned residents to be aware of dizziness, headaches and other side effects that exposure to an oil spill can cause. Some sections of the coastline in Huntington Beach were closed Sunday, and the city said in a statement that the spill had "substantial ecological impacts" on the shoreline and wetlands.
The spill forced the city to cancel the final day of its Pacific Airshow because, and skimming equipment and booms were deployed to prevent the flow of oil into ecologically sensitive areas, it said in a statement.
Miyoko Sakashita, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s oceans program, said the spill was a tragic reminder of the devastating threat offshore drilling can pose.
“I’ve seen the aging oil platforms off Huntington Beach up close, and I know it’s past time to decommission these time bombs,” she said. “Even after fines and criminal charges, the oil industry is still spilling and leaking into California’s coastal waters because these companies just aren’t capable of operating safely.”
Californians have been particularly wary of offshore oil spills since the disastrous leak off the coast of Santa Barbara in 1969, when images of birds and other wildlife covered in heavy black gunk helped spark the modern environmental movement.
Willsher said the pipeline is connected to a processing platform 17.5 miles off the coast. The platform is one of three in the area owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy, Willshir said. They were built in the 1970s and ‘80s and have been owned by the company for nine years, he said.
The pipeline is inspected every other year and has been “meticulously maintained,” he said, adding that the most recent inspection occurred last week. The pipeline’s capacity is 126,000 gallons, and Willsher said he did not expect anymore leakage.
California authorities rush to mitigate impact of major oil spill
Issued on: 03/10/2021
Issued on: 03/10/2021
Oil washed up on the shore of Huntington Beach, California on October 3, 2021, after a pipeline breach connected to an oil rig off shore started leaking oil, according to an Orange County Supervisor Patrick T. FALLON AFP
Newport Beach (United States) (AFP)
Authorities in California's beachfront Orange County cities scrambled Sunday to mitigate the fallout from a major oil spill off the coast that caused "substantial ecological impacts."
As of Sunday, the oil slick plume from the 126,000-gallon (480,000 liters) spill of post-production crude was an estimated 5.8 nautical miles (6.7 miles, 10 kilometers) long and stretched along popular shorelines of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, Huntington Beach city authorities said in a statement.
"The spill has significantly affected Huntington Beach, with substantial ecological impacts occurring at the beach and at the Huntington Beach Wetlands," the statement said.
The spill started around 9:00 am (1600 GMT) on Saturday and spread approximately 13 square miles (34 square kilometers), several miles off the coast, the Coast Guard said.
In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, oil and dead animals had begun washing up on Huntington Beach, a city of around 200,000 people located about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley tweeted.
"We've started to find dead birds and fish washing up on the shore," she said.
Foley said in a statement she would meet with the environmental health office and city representatives on Sunday.
"We are deeply concerned by the events today," she said.
"The ramifications will extend further than the visible oil and odor that our residents are dealing with at the moment. The impact to the environment is irreversible."
- 'Potential contamination' -
Residents were warned to steer clear of the shoreline, and the ocean was closed to swimming and surfing "due to potential contamination," the city said, adding that the final day of the Pacific Airshow had been canceled.
The Coast Guard ran point on a unified command of federal, state, county and city agencies established to tackle the spill, with fire and marine safety personnel deployed to implement environmental containment efforts.
Newport Beach (United States) (AFP)
Authorities in California's beachfront Orange County cities scrambled Sunday to mitigate the fallout from a major oil spill off the coast that caused "substantial ecological impacts."
As of Sunday, the oil slick plume from the 126,000-gallon (480,000 liters) spill of post-production crude was an estimated 5.8 nautical miles (6.7 miles, 10 kilometers) long and stretched along popular shorelines of Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, Huntington Beach city authorities said in a statement.
"The spill has significantly affected Huntington Beach, with substantial ecological impacts occurring at the beach and at the Huntington Beach Wetlands," the statement said.
The spill started around 9:00 am (1600 GMT) on Saturday and spread approximately 13 square miles (34 square kilometers), several miles off the coast, the Coast Guard said.
In the pre-dawn hours of Sunday, oil and dead animals had begun washing up on Huntington Beach, a city of around 200,000 people located about 40 miles south of Los Angeles, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley tweeted.
"We've started to find dead birds and fish washing up on the shore," she said.
Foley said in a statement she would meet with the environmental health office and city representatives on Sunday.
"We are deeply concerned by the events today," she said.
"The ramifications will extend further than the visible oil and odor that our residents are dealing with at the moment. The impact to the environment is irreversible."
- 'Potential contamination' -
Residents were warned to steer clear of the shoreline, and the ocean was closed to swimming and surfing "due to potential contamination," the city said, adding that the final day of the Pacific Airshow had been canceled.
The Coast Guard ran point on a unified command of federal, state, county and city agencies established to tackle the spill, with fire and marine safety personnel deployed to implement environmental containment efforts.
Residents were warned to steer clear of the shoreline and the ocean was closed to swimming and surfing "due to potential contamination" from the oil spill of the coast of Orange County, California Patrick T. FALLON AFP
"The leak has not been completely stopped, preliminary patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site," the city statement said.
"The size of the spill demanded prompt and aggressive action," it added.
Foley said the toxicity of the crude was "concerning enough that the city has deployed a Haz Mat team to further assess the situation."
It was not immediately clear what caused the spill from what Foley said was a pipeline breach connected to an oil rig offshore. An investigation has been launched into the incident, she added.
© 2021 AFP
"The leak has not been completely stopped, preliminary patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site," the city statement said.
"The size of the spill demanded prompt and aggressive action," it added.
Foley said the toxicity of the crude was "concerning enough that the city has deployed a Haz Mat team to further assess the situation."
It was not immediately clear what caused the spill from what Foley said was a pipeline breach connected to an oil rig offshore. An investigation has been launched into the incident, she added.
© 2021 AFP
An oil spill in Southern California closed beaches and led authorities to cancel the last day of the Pacific Air Show. At least 126,000 gallons (98,420 liters) of oil spilled off the coast of Orange County.
Oil washed up on Huntington Beach Sunday
Waters off the US state of California were hit by oil spill on Sunday after what was believed to be an oil rig pipeline breach.
Authorities closed beaches from Huntington Beach to Santa Ana as crews worked to contain the environmental damage.
California State Senator Dave Min said efforts to contain the spill came too late.
"Unfortunately, the oil spill has reached our wetlands in Huntington Beach, home of many endangered species. This is clearly an environmental catastrophe."
The oil spill trashed popular beaches and destroyed wildlife, such as birds and fish. The US Coast Guard surveilled the damage by air and worked with local and state officials to contain the damage.
Approximately four miles (6.4 kilometers) of coastline remained closed. The final day of the Pacific Air Show, which normally draws thousands to Huntington Beach, was also called off as crews worked to assess and contain the damage.
In a statement, the city of Huntington Beach said at least 126,000 gallons (98,420 liters) of oil contaminated the waters off the coast of Orange County.
"The spill has significantly affected Huntington Beach, with substantial ecological impacts occurring at the beach and at the Huntington Beach Wetlands," the statement read in part, adding, "while the leak has not been completely stopped, preliminary patching has been completed to repair the oil spill site."
Huntington Beach is a city of almost 200,000 residents approximately 30 miles (48 kilometers) south of downtown Los Angeles.
The coast guard deployed skimmers and floating barriers known as booms to prevent further encroachment into the wetlands and the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve.
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