On Sunday (October 3), Rep. Michelle Steel of Orange County, Nanga sent a letter to U.S. President Joe Biden requesting that the local crude oil spill be declared a major disaster and provide federal assistance to state and local agencies and individuals affected by the incident.
accident
On Friday night, local residents of Huntington Beach began to smell a "terrible and intense" smell of oil, and several people on the Nextdoor community network reported hearing a loud noise.
Hal Lopez came from the Bay Area and lived at a relative's house in Huntington Beach. On Friday night, he jogged along the boardwalk and smelled some rot — like stinky meat. "I didn't know what was going on and had to stop running. My sense of smell is very sensitive," he said.
At dinner, relatives told him that neighbors were talking about an oil spill. They log on online to search for information to confirm or dispel rumors. "Everyone wants to know if the local officials will give us clues or some type of warning," he said.
"We don't know what that is," said Neal Shehab, a resident of 61, who also added that he believed the public was not immediately informed because "the government does not want to cancel the airshow." ”
Beginning Friday, a three-day Pacific Airshow was held locally. According to a 2019 report on the economic impact of the Pacific Airshow, the event generated approximately $68.1 million in spending and $3.4 million in travel-related revenue.
On Saturday, the next day's air show continued. Residents continued to post on social media, wondering if the unpleasant smell was caused by overhead aircraft exhaust.
At around 9:10 a.m. on Saturday, the Coast Guard received a report that oil sprays had been found about 3 miles off the coast of Newport Beach. Around the same time, Huntington Beach officials said they were also notified of the leak.
Less than three miles off the coast of Huntington Beach, an oil pipeline broke down to an offshore oil platform called Elly.
Installed in 1980, the Elly platform is one of 23 oil and gas platforms in federal waters off the coast of Los Angeles County and is regulated by the U.S. Department of the Interior. It sits on top of a large crude oil reservoir called the Beta field, which processes crude oil production from two other platforms, Ellen and Eureka.
Officials announced they found a 5.8-mile-long oil trail stretching from huntington Beach piers to Newport Beach.
At around 11:30 a.m., Newport Beach Mayor Brad Avery witnessed the spilled oil slick while taking a boat from Avalon to the ongoing Pacific Airshow. "As we approached the coastline for about 5 miles, we crossed the oil slick," he said, adding that other vessels had reported the incident on maritime radio as they passed by. He added that there was a swarm of dolphins at the bow of the ship, which worried him.
"We quickly received an alert," said Kate Conrad of Beta Offshore, a Southern California oil producer, who said workers began shutting down pipelines and using pressurized equipment to recover as much oil as possible shortly after the incident.
The Coast Guard has established a unified command with Beta Offshore and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife's Oil Spill Prevention and Response Office.
"In a year of incredibly challenging issues, this oil spill is one of the most devastating situations our community has dealt with in decades," said Kim Carr, Mayor of Huntington Beach, while reassuring the population that the Huntington Beach team has mobilized quickly and is responding positively to do everything in their power to protect the health and safety of residents, visitors and natural habitats.
Huntington Beach officials deployed a 2,050-foot floating fence to try to stop the oil from spreading further.
Officials said at least 126,000 gallons of oil spilled into the water, but authorities warned that number would increase, and the spill had not stopped as of early Sunday afternoon, and government agencies had not received new estimates.
Separately, the National Weather Service said Sunday that the massive oil spill was unlikely to spread to San Diego County waters.
Brandt Maxwell, a weather service forecaster, said: "The wind is blowing from the west, some from the southwest, which should leave (the oil) there," and "On Sunday night and Monday, the wind may shift and blow out of the northwest, but it will be small." ”
effect
Huntington Beach officials said the spill had "significant ecological impacts" on beach and wetland areas.
At a late-saturday news conference, local officials expressed grave concern about the environmental impact of the spill and hoped workers would prevent oil from entering protected areas.
Huntington State Beach is home to many birds, including seagulls, terns and red egrets, and according to Ben Smith, a biologist and environmental consultant at the county, some birds are rare on the West Coast. Of particular concern are sensitive habitats such as Talbert Marsh and Bolsa Chica Wetlands.
"There's oil everywhere," he said, "and if birds get into this oil, it's going to stick to their feathers, and it's going to be a serious problem for them," and "polluted water is harmful to wildlife, to the water environment, to people who use water, it's really unfortunate."
The Pacific Marine Mammal Center in Laguna Beach is preparing to classify oil-contaminated wildlife affected by the spill in the coming days. The number of wild animals affected by the spill is unclear.
Heal the Bay CEO Dr. Shelley Luce said the oil was "highly toxic" and "it was a toxic spill." Countless animals will die, because death will happen in the sea. ”
Luce notes that in addition to larger animals, oil slicks also affect organisms at the microscopic level, including plankton, which make up the lowest layer of the food chain that leads all the way to humans.
At sunrise on Sunday, the oil slick has already begun to come ashore and the pungent smell fills the coastline. The rough waves carried the black oil to the shore in circles, and the softball-sized oil was washed onto the beach.
Huntington has closed the beach locally. Newport's coast is still open, but officials advise people to stay away from beaches and water.
Dead birds and dead fish have also begun to wash away to shore.
Officials asked residents not to try to help oil-contaminated wildlife, as it could endanger their own health. People can call a California wildlife officer at 877-823-6926 for help.
Oil spills in California in recent years
The worst offshore oil spill in California's history occurred in 1969, when a blowout occurred on a rig that caused a 4.2 million gallons of crude oil spill off the waters off Santa Barbara. Crude oil gushed out of ruptures at a rate of 1,000 gallons per hour for a month before slowing down, killing thousands of birds, fish and marine mammals.
The last time there was a serious oil spill on the coast of Orange County was more than 30 years ago. On the afternoon of February 7, 1990, the tanker American Trader ran aground near Huntington Beach, spilling nearly 417,000 gallons of crude oil, contaminating nearby beaches and killing countless fish and about 3,400 birds.
The San Francisco Bay Area recently commemorated the 50th anniversary of the devastating 1971 oil spill, which spilled after two tankers collided in thick fog, dumping 800,000 gallons of marine fuel in the bay and killing thousands of birds.
In 2007, a cargo ship in San Francisco Bay also rammed the San Francisco-Oakland Bay Bridge, causing more than 6,800 birds to die when 58,000 gallons of bunker oil leaked into the bay.
In 2015, an oil pipeline north of Santa Barbara ruptured, spilling 143,000 gallons of crude oil, and leaking oil blocks were found far away in Manhattan Beach. The spill forced the closure of Refugio and El Capitan beaches, and 204 birds and 106 marine mammals died as a result of the spill, according to people involved in the restoration effort. Santa Barbara County later filed a lawsuit against the oil pipeline company on 46 criminal counts, including four felony charges of deliberately discharging pollutants into state waters. The company agreed to pay more than $60 million and change its operations to resolve litigation arising from the oil spill.
Miyoko Sakashita, director of the Biodiversity Center's Marine Program, said: "This oil spill is a tragic reminder that offshore drilling poses a devastating threat to our coast and its wildlife. "I've seen the aging oil platforms near Huntington Beach up close, and I know it's time to decommission these ticking time bombs." Even after the fines and criminal charges, the oil industry is leaking into California's coastal waters because the companies can't operate safely. ”
Congressman Alan Lowenthal said the spill was "both preventable and tragic". "This environmental disaster highlights the simple fact that wherever it goes, it leaks. As we have witnessed, when you drill along the coast, when you deliver oil to shore, our coastline will bear the brunt of such leaks," he said in a statement. "This will not only be devastating to our marine wildlife and ecosystems, but also devastate the livelihoods of our coastal communities centred on fisheries, tourism and recreation."
Katrina Foley, the county director of Orange County, said, "We can clean it up faster and better than the previous oil spills, but that doesn't mean it can happen, and "someone has to be held accountable for this happening." ”
Source: Holy Land Ya GO
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