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The source of the spill which spat up to 144,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean likely came down to a 13-inch crack found in a 4,000-foot section of the pipe that had been pulled about 105 feet over the side, authorities said. .
“The pipeline was basically pulled like a bowstring. And so at its widest point is about 105 feet from where it was. So it’s almost a semicircle,” Martyn Willsher said. , CEO of Amplify Energy, at a press conference. Tuesday.
The discovery may provide insight into the source of the leak, but not the cause. Authorities are still investigating what precipitated the relocation and rupture of the pipe.
The 17-mile-long, 41-year-old pipeline is approximately 98 feet underwater. Approximately 16 inches in diameter, the steel pipe is encased in concrete as it rests along the ocean floor.
A preliminary report says the partial tear could have been caused by an anchor that snagged the pipeline, the US Department of Transportation Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration said in a notice to Amplify Energy, the owner of the broken pipeline.
There is no confirmation of a vessel above the spill site, but a response team is working with other agencies to determine if a vessel was in the area, said Captain Rebecca Ore, commander. from the US Coast Guard area in Los Angeles. Long beach.
In the transportation department’s “corrective action order”, Amplify Energy is asked to completely shut down the affected pipeline, provide maintenance and inspection records, and perform root cause analysis of the failure, among other things. requirements. Only then can he submit a business resumption plan.
Timeline survey
Authorities investigating the leak also sought clarification on Tuesday when authorities and the pipeline company learned of the spill and what they did in response.
The United Command said the National Response Center first received a report of an unknown shard from an unknown source on Friday evening.
“These types of reports are common and in many cases the reported burst may be a natural seep of oil or one that is never localized,” the Unified Command said in a press release. “NOAA satellite imagery was reported to the agencies early in the morning, signaling a possible oil anomaly.”
Crews from the California Department of Fisheries and Wildlife’s spill prevention and response office went to investigate before sunrise, but conditions were foggy and the crew returned ashore, said the authorities.
“The Orange County Coast Guard and Sheriff deployed in the first light of the fog once the fog lifted to investigate. A Coast Guard plane was hijacked to support the investigation. Saturday morning , the company confirmed an oil spill from an oil pipeline, ”the Unified Command said.
The timeline confirms California officials were briefed on reports of an oil burst at the spill site on Friday evening, more than 12 hours before Amplify Energy Corp., the operator of the line, reported it. to state and federal authorities, according to documents. reviewed by CNN.
At a press conference on Monday, Amplify’s Willsher said a shard was detected by company staff on Saturday morning, not Friday evening. Willsher said there is equipment to detect a leak without visibly seeing an oil spill, but there was no notice of a potential leak in the line until Saturday.
Timing is important given the number of people potentially affected by Saturday’s spill, Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley said.
“There were hundreds of boaters on the Huntington Beach coast because we had an air show,” Foley said. “There were hundreds of boaters coming and going from Catalina to Orange County.”
Clean up the devastation
Huntington Beach once had a sign that said “Surf City USA”. A new sign on Monday read “Beach open, ocean and shore closed.”
On a section of beach, workers in hazmat suits and rakes cleaned up tar balls from the spill, while beach goers and their dogs ran between them.
And a little further south, teams in white hazardous material protective suits worked to protect the fragile wetland ecosystem near the mouth of the Santa Ana River, crucial habitat for migratory birds that is now shrouded in of glittering ribbons of oil.
The spill, which runs from Huntington Beach to Laguna Beach, is likely to move further south depending on wind and currents, Coast Guard Ore said.
As of Tuesday morning, about 4,800 gallons of oil had been recovered from the water and about 11,400 feet of boom – a term for floating barriers designed to contain an oil spill – had been deployed.
“It’s devastated our California coastline in Orange County, and it’s having a huge impact on our ecological reserves as well as our economy,” Foley told CNN. “We need answers and the public deserves answers.”
Eight birds were recovered from the oil spill, including a brown pelican that was euthanized due to a wing injury, according to the OWCN.
“As California continues to lead the nation in phasing out fossil fuels and tackling the climate crisis, this incident serves as a reminder of the enormous cost of fossil fuels to our communities,” Newsom said Monday. “Destructive offshore drilling practices sacrifice our public health, the economy and our environment.”
Amir Vera, Cheri Mossburg, Stella Chan, Susannah Cullinane, Claudia Dominguez, Chris Isidore, Julia Jones, Eric Levenson, Sara Sidner, Sarah Moon, Alta Spells, Joe Sutton, Sonnet Swire, Camila Bernal and Anna-Maja Rappard have contributed. report.
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