Major oil spill hits Orange County coast after 126,000 gallons leak from pipeline
A major oil spill off the coast of Orange County, Southern California, on Saturday prompted coastal closures and emergency responses.
The slick thought to come from a pipeline leak has put 3,000 barrels of oil, the equivalent of about 126,000 gallons, into coastal waters, the Los Angeles Times reported.
“We recognize the gravity of the situation. We recognize how serious this is and we are and will continue to fight this with all of our collective resources to ensure that we avert this from becoming a major environmental disaster here in our community,” Assemblywoman Cottie Petrie-Norris said.
“At some point, we must address these types of spills and how they are…wreaking such havoc not only just on our environment, but also on our economics in our community,” Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said.
The US Coast Guard, California state officials and local agencies responded to protect the area’s ecological preserves, wetlands and marshes.
Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said some of the oil had reached the shore and was impacting the Talbert Marshlands and the Santa Ana River Trail.
"We want the community to know that as a city, we've been working with our federal, state and county partners to mitigate the impact that could be a potential ecological disaster," Carr said at an evening news conference.
Lifeguards deployed floating barriers known as booms to try to stop further incursion, according to Jennifer Carey, a Huntington Beach city spokesperson.
The spill has so far caused “significant ecological impacts” on the beach and wetlands area, officials said, adding they had identified a 5.8 mile oil plume running roughly from Huntington Beach Pier to Newport Beach.
“The large oil spill reported off the coast earlier today is now expected to come ashore in Newport Beach at some point tonight, at a location between Balboa Pier and CdM Main Beach,” the city tweeted on Saturday.
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