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Authorities said Monday they were investigating the possibility that a ship anchor damaged a pipeline and caused the massive oil spill that began over the weekend and affected several beaches in southern California.
The oil spill is one of the largest in recent California history, with at least 126,000 gallons of crude spilling onto the coastline. Miles of beaches in Orange County could potentially be closed for weeks as clean-up continues.
Martyn Willsher, CEO of Amplify Energy, which operates the affected pipeline, said that an anchor hitting the pipeline is “one of the distinct possibilities,” according to the Associated Press.
Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jeannie Shaye agreed with that, saying, “We are investigating whether this could have been an anchor from a ship, but it is in the evaluation phase at the moment.”
According to Willsher, divers have examined more than 8,000 feet of the pipeline and are focused on “an area of significant interest.”
Shortly after the oil spill began, workers moved to shut down the pipeline and recover as much of the oil as possible. However, on Sunday morning, Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley said on Twitter that the spill had “significant ecological impacts” on Huntington Beach.
“We started to find dead birds and stranded fish on the shore,” Foley tweeted.
As the AP noted, Orange County District Attorney Todd Spitzer said he had tasked investigators to determine if he could lay charges against the state for the spill. Spitzer also said Amplify divers should not be allowed to be near the pipeline without his independent authority.
Many California Democrats have called for limiting or stopping offshore drilling in light of the spill.
“The oil spill off the coast of Orange County reiterates the dangers of offshore drilling,” the senator said. Diane finstein
Dianne Emiel FeinsteinFeinstein Introduces Bill Requiring Vaccinations or Testing for Domestic Air Travel (D-California). “This spill shows why we must also take action to prevent future spills, including passing the West Coast Ocean Protection Act. Our bill would permanently ban oil and gas drilling in federal waters off the coasts of California, Oregon and Washington. “
Recently appointed Junior California Sen. Alex Padilla
Alex Padilla Democrats back Hollywood teams threatening historic strike California rule change means Padilla faces additional election Democrats see Harris as a major player in midterm MORE (D) tweeted, “We have seen time and time again how damaging oil spills at sea are to our coastal ecosystems as well as our economy. We have the power to prevent future spills, which is why I am committed to ending offshore oil drilling ”,
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