The environmental impact of the great oil spill on the southern California coast “is irreversible” | Society

The California coast suffered one of the biggest oil spills in recent history this weekend. A leak in an undersea pipeline has spilled more than 120,000 gallons of oil on beaches south of Los Angeles. Authorities are investigating the causes of the leak and have warned that those responsible will have to bear the consequences. The “ecological disaster” has already killed fish and birds, and beaches will be closed for weeks or months. “The impact on the environment is irreversible,” warned Katrina Foley, supervisor of Orange County, one of the worst affected areas.

An estimated total of 126,000 galons (476,300 litros) will be filtraron el sábado al mar y formaron una mancha de petróleo that cubría 33.7 km cuadrados en el Océano Pacífico, desde el Muelle de Huntington Beach hasta Newport Beach, a pocos kilómetros del sur de Angels. The oil tanker spill is one of the “most devastating situations our community has faced in decades,” Acting Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said on Sunday. of oil.

After hours of questions about the origin of the disaster, it was finally learned early Sunday that the oil was coming from Platform Elly, a pipeline operated by Beta Offshore, the California subsidiary of Amplify Energy Corporation. “Although the leak has not completely stopped, preliminary work to repair the damaged area has been completed,” local authorities said.

Amplify Energy CEO Martyn Willsher said on Sunday afternoon that the company was investigating the spill. The facilities that operate the pipeline were built in the early 1980s and are inspected every two years, Willsher noted, including during the pandemic.

Although the smell of oil and tar began to bother neighbors on Friday and the stain appeared on Saturday morning, the company that operates the pipeline only closed that night. The next day, oil was still spilling about five miles from the coastal town of Huntington Beach. Carr warned that gallons of oil would continue to hit the region’s coasts for “the next few days.”

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has warned that it is a “public health threat” to consume fish and shellfish taken off the coast of Huntington Beach. During a press conference, the mayor warned Sunday that “wetlands are degrading” and that parts of the coast are “covered with oil”. “We started to find dead birds and fish on the shore,” added supervisor Foley, representing Orange. Environmental groups used the disaster to push California to replace fossil fuels with renewable sources.

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