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LOS ANGELES — Southern California officials rushed Sunday to limit damage from an oil spill blamed on a broken pipeline to an offshore platform.
An estimated 126,000 gallons of heavy crude escaped into the waters off Orange County from Friday evening or early Saturday, when boaters began reporting a burst in the water, officials said. The pipeline and operations on three offshore platforms owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp. were closed on Saturday evening, CEO Martyn Willsher said.
Clean-up contractors deploy skimmers and floating barriers known as booms in an attempt to stop a new incursion of crude oil into the Talbert Marsh wetlands in Huntington Beach, Calif., On Sunday, October 3, 2021 (AP). Photo / Ringo HW Chiu)
The Los Angeles Times reported that the Newport Beach, Orange County Police Department began receiving calls of the mysterious smell of oil floating in the air on Friday. About a day later, authorities spotted evidence of the spill.
The report states that the pipeline in question is connected to a 41-year-old platform about eight miles from the coast named Elly. Huntington Beach, which was the site of the Pacific Airshow on Sunday, canceled its last day due to conditions on the beach. Kim Carr, Mayor of Huntington Beach, told Fox 11 that the spill could constitute a “potential environmental disaster.”
Representative Michelle Steel, R-Calif., Sent a letter to President Joe Biden on Sunday requesting a declaration of major disaster for Orange County, according to the report.
“Officials are already responding to protect marine life. Dead fish and birds are already reported on beaches and shorelines. I have serious concerns about the environmental impacts of the spill and applaud the workers who are doing their best. to keep oil from touching sensitive areas, wet areas, ”she wrote.
Beta Offshore, which is based in Long Beach, has been blamed for the spill and is working with the incident management team on repair and cleanup efforts, a statement from Huntington Beach said. The OC Register has identified the company as a subsidiary of Amplify Energy.
Willsher said the pipeline was 80 to 100 feet below the surface and had been vacuumed so that there was no more oil spill while the location of the leak was investigated . An after-hours Fox News email was not immediately returned.
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Some birds and fish were caught in the mud and died, Orange County supervisor Katrina Foley said. But in early Saturday afternoon, the US Coast Guard said there was so far only one red duck covered in oil and receiving veterinary care. “Other reports of oiled wildlife are under investigation,” the Coast Guard said in a statement.
The Associated Press contributed to this report
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