Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management Oil Spill Update

[upaloopa]

Wednesday May 20, 2015, 8:21 AM
Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management



Advisory: Oil Spill Update
Dear Nixle User,
EVENT NAME: Refugio Beach Oil Spill (This report may contain unconfirmed information)

DATE/TIME OF Report: 05/20/15 at 0800 hours

LOCATION: Refugio Beach, Santa Barbara County

IMPACT OF EVENT: MODERATE

SITUATION UPDATE:
• Unified Command:
• Federal On Scene Coordinator - USCG & EPA.
• State on Scene Coordinator - CA State Parks & CA Fish and Wildlife.
• The following State personnel are on scene: A Cal OES Fire Assistant Chief, A Cal OES Southern Region Coordinator, Department of Fish and Wildlife, OSPR Field Response Teams.
• The source of the spill was capped at approximately 1500 hours but a significant amount of oil reached the ocean at Goleta.
• The Refugio Beach campground was evacuated at the recommendation of the county Health Officer, and State Parks has offered other vacant state campgrounds nearby for those evacuated.
• Highway 1 and associated rail lines have been inspected and cleared for normal operations.
• OSPR has ordered a ban on fishing and the taking of shell fish in the spill area.
• Local Animal Rescue and environmental groups such as Clean Seas and the Environmental Defense Center are mobilizing to assist impacted wildlife.
• Initial estimate of cleanup time is 3 days.
• Per Cal OES Southern Region personnel:
• Approximately 4 miles of Refugio Beach was impacted by the spill.
• 20 barrels of oil were retrieved from the ocean and 100 barrels of oil were picked up at the spill site.
• The US Coast Guard is providing security on the water.
• Clean Seas conducted an overflight at 0630 hours.
• Three 65 foot vessels are cleaning oil off of the ocean and 6 vessels are corralling oil in the water.
• Pacific Petroleum is in the process of repairing the ruptured pipeline. ETA to be determined.
• On shore Patriot Services has 73 personnel conducting protective works for the following sensitive sites (in order of priority):
• 1. Bell Canyon
• 2. Tecolote
• 3. Gaviota

SITUATION:
• On 05/19/15 at 1243 hours the California State Warning Center received a report from the Santa Barbara County Fire Department indicating that a ¼ mile sheen was observed off of Refugio State Beach, near Goleta, Santa Barbara County.
• On 05/19/15 at 1510 hours the NRC reported that Plains All American Pipeline advised that crude oil was discovered to be coming out of a transmission pipeline at a Culvert under Highway 1. They estimated the release is greater than 500 barrels. Contractors responded to scene and the action line was shut in.
• The California State Warning Center conducted all appropriate notifications, including but not limited to local government agencies.

This report will be updated as information becomes available.
For full details, view this message on the web.

[petronius]

1. Something that disturbs me from one of the news articles is the reported reaction time:

...

Authorities responding to reports of a foul smell near Refugio State Beach around noon found a half-mile slick in the ocean, county fire Capt. Dave Zaniboni said. They traced the oil to the pipeline that spilled into a culvert running under a highway and into a storm drain that empties into the ocean.

The 24-inch pipeline was shut off about three hours later. It's owned by Plains All American Pipeline, which said it stopped the flow of oil and blocked the culvert.

...

http://news.yahoo.com/4-mile-oil-slick-lines-california-coast-pipeline-073108756.html

Three hours between identifying the specific pipeline and then shutting it off seems too long to me - I'd hope for better communication, and/or quicker reactions by the pipeline owners...

[Cleita]

2. Another thing that bothers me is what are they going to do

about what is a system that needs to be upgraded and maybe even removed permanently? Is there anyway this company can be forced to pay for fines and cover the costs of the damages?