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"Tar balls" washing ashore in ventura county

5/31/2015

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The Unified Command for the Refugio Oil spill has released information regarding reports of "tar balls" on Ventura County beaches. 

From 9:15 this morning: 

The Unified Command is working with Ventura County in response to tar balls washing ashore. Shoreline assessment and cleanup has been initiated for urban beaches.

Shoreline cleanup assessment teams are evaluating Ventura beaches identified as environmentally or culturally sensitive. This is nesting season for endangered snowy plovers; responders are taking great care to clean the areas without affecting the birds. Because of snowy plover presence over large areas of beach in Ventura, the speed of cleanup may be affected to prevent disturbance.

In addition to tarball sightings in Ventura County, sightings occurred on Los Angeles County beaches. Sampling occurred at all affected beaches in Ventura and Los Angeles counties. Oil fingerprint analysis reports are pending.

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Report any "tar ball" sightings to: 805-770-3682 

At this time only El Capitan and Refugio State Beaches are closed. Agencies responding to the spill have surveyed 37.45 miles of shoreline and find 27.90 miles are "impacted" by the spill so far. Dive teams have been deployed to survey the ocean floor "for submerged oil that may have been deposited during the initial days of the incident." When the teams are finished with the surveys, and clean up plan will be created to remove any oil on the ocean floor. 

WILDLIFE IMPACTS: As of this morning the following is being reported: 
Live birds recovered - 46
Dead birds recovered - 22
Live mammals recovered - 30
Dead mammals recovered - 14

The wildlife recovery teams are continuing to rescue animals impacted by the spill, and it is reiterated "the public should not attempt to rescue oiled wildlife. Untrained individuals who attempt to rescue wildlife may cause more harm than good and may injure themselves in the process."

Report oiled wildlife sightings to: 1-877-823-6926

Other information regarding "recovered material"

Oiled vegetation: 300 cubic yards
Oiled sand: 390 cubic yards
Oiled soil: 3,348 cubic yards
Oily water mixture: 11,600 gallons





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Where is the oil going? 

5/28/2015

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LA Times - Cleanup efforts underway after globs of tar wash ashore in the South Bay

Today in the Los Angeles Times: 

BY VERONICA ROCHA


May 28, 2015, 6:15 a.m.
Crews worked overnight to clean up tar balls that washed ashore Wednesday along nearly nine miles of coastline from El Segundo to Redondo Beach.

Lifeguards in Manhattan Beach first spotted the petroleum-like substance about 10 a.m. just off the coast. Two hours later, the tar washed ashore with the surf and coated two miles of sand between 34th Street in Manhattan Beach and Longfellow Avenue in Hermosa Beach.

click here to read full article: http://touch.latimes.com/#section/600/article/p2p-83646286/


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Statements on the spill: From Western States petroleum Association & Environmental Defense Center

5/21/2015

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The Western States Petroleum Association (WSPA) has issued a statement regarding the Refugio beach spill, estimated now at over 100,000 gallons. WSPA is a trade group for the oil and gas industry.
WSPA is monitoring the response to the May 19 crude oil pipeline leak in Santa Barbara County.  The emergency response incident command structure has been activated.  The U.S. Coast Guard and U.S. Environmental Protection Agency are coordinating the federal response effort and the California Department of Parks and Recreation and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife are coordinating the state response.

As an industry, we are always concerned when accidents like this happen.  WSPA members strive to prevent any amount of spillage and have numerous programs and procedures designed to prevent such occurrences.  Once the incident is contained and thoroughly cleaned up, they will review the facts surrounding this incident and apply what they learn to prevent future accidents.

We are grateful for the quick response on the part of the Coast Guard, Plains All American, the Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response and other responders that appear to have quickly limited the size of the spill.  And we appreciate the efforts of the local response agencies and volunteers who are working on cleanup efforts.

Plains All American, the owner of the pipeline, is a member of the Western States Petroleum Association.

The pipeline is operated as a common carrier of crude oil, which means it conveys oil produced by companies operating in the central coastal region of California and delivers it through a network of pipelines to refineries throughout the state.

And a statement from the Santa Barbara based Environmental Defense Center. A non-profit law firm representing other non-profits in cases aimed at protecting the environment. The EDC was formed in the wake of the 1969 oil spill in Santa Barbara. 
“The Environmental Defense Center is deeply saddened by the environmental damage we are seeing on the beaches and in the Santa Barbara Channel from yesterday’s oil spill inland of Refugio State Beach. There continues to be a number of questions that have yet to be answered including the size of the spill, why there was no automatic shut-off on this relatively new pipeline, and why the early response was not more successful in halting the flow of crude oil into the fragile waters of the Santa Barbara Channel and across our precious coastline.

 The fact is that oil development is innately risky. We need to realize that allowing these dangerous industrial operations in our most sensitive environments will inevitably lead to oil spills - the most predictable of accidents. And this region is home to an incredible diversity of wildlife including numerous species of endangered whales and iconic coastlands that bring people from across the world to visit.   As we monitor the cleanup operations, we must keep in mind that Venoco looks to expand drilling operations from Platform Holly and Sunset Exxon wants to begin new coastal slant drilling from Vandenberg, both projects EDC is working diligently to prevent – and again with oil drilling and accidents it is not a question of if, but when.”

-Owen Bailey, Executive Director, Environmental Defense Center

The photo below is from a Tweet posted by the Cal Spill Watch, Office of Spill Prevention and Response, they reported late yesterday five pelicans have been taken to a rehab, and the wildlife teams are collecting more birds. Follow Cal Spill Watch on Twitter for more updates: 
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in SB: refugio spill - Plains all American and the State Fire Marshall

5/20/2015

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A pipeline operated by Plains All American was found to be leaking in the ground and spilling into the ocean along Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County on Tuesday. 

The pipeline, a crude oil pipeline, is reported to have been abandoned is under the jurisdiction of the State Fire Marshall. Based on California State law, this type of pipeline is not overseen by the California Department of Conservation, Department of Oil, Gas, and Geothermal Resources (DOGGR) the agency responsible for overseeing oil and gas operators in the state. 

From the Office of the State Fire Marshall Website: 

"In 1981, the California Legislature established the Hazardous Liquid Pipeline Safety Act with the intent that the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) shall exercise exclusive safety regulatory and enforcement authority over intrastate hazardous liquid pipelines. The Office of the State Fire Marshal currently regulates the safety of approximately 4,500 miles of intrastate hazardous liquid transportation pipelines. The Pipeline Safety Division consists of engineers, analytical staff, and clerical support located in northern, central and southern California. Pipeline Safety staff inspect pipeline operators to ensure compliance with federal and state pipeline safety laws and regulations. The Division is also responsible for the investigation of all spills, ruptures, fires, or pipeline incidents for cause and determination of probable violations."

Here is a map from the OSFM website of the crude oil pipelines in the state: 
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Here is a map of the pipelines operated by Plains All American: 
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