Carrie Braun, Orange County Sheriff’s Department spokeswoman, stated that harbor patrol boats off Huntington Beach picked-up radio chatter from local boaters about an oily smell and sheen on the water around 5:30 p.m. Oct. 1. She said that at least one of the boats was in the area to help with a popular radio show. However, they checked the spillage reports and found nothing.
Coast Guard Lt. Commander Jeannie Shaye said. She said that the federal agency requested the vessel to report to the National Response Center. This is staffed by Coast Guard personnel and notifies other agencies about emergencies to ensure quick response.
The oil spillage of approximately 25,000 gallons (94.635 liters), of crude oil from a pipeline owned Houston-based Amplify Energy, caused the closure of many of the region’s most iconic beaches and fisheries. It also harmed animal life and plants.
Coast Guard officials provided conflicting timelines for initial response in the days following the spillage.
Shaye confirmed on Thursday that several calls regarding a possible spillage were received over the marine radio channel. However, she said that her agency only responded to a call at 6:30 p.m. from an anchored vessel. She stated that the Coast Guard did not know that the harbor patrol had searched for the spillage that evening.
Braun stated that the Coast Guard called state and local authorities around 7 p.m., but didn’t launch a search as darkness was falling. Braun stated that the harbor patrol had finished its check by then.
Colonial Compliance Systems Inc. called the National Response Center at 8:22 p.m. to receive the report from the commercial vessel. This center works with foreign vessels in U.S. waters to report any spillages, according to reports by the California Office of Emergency Services.
Coast Guard hazardous material investigators set out the next morning on a harbor patrol boat and found a mile-long black plume, several miles off shore, according to a memo from the sheriff’s office that was obtained by AP via a California Public Records Act request.
Pete Stauffer is the Surfrider Foundation’s environmental director. He said that a quick response to any spillage is crucial to minimizing damage.
Stauffer stated, “When there is a report of an oil slick in the ocean, it is important to investigate.” It is crucial to know what happens within the first hour and days after an oil spillage.
Investigations are underway into the cause of this spillage. Federal investigators are investigating whether MSC DANIT, the Panama-registered container ship of 1,200 feet (366 meters) was dragging an anchor during Jan. 25’s storm.
The cause of the leakage occurred eight months later. Authorities are investigating whether any other anchors struck and damaged the pipeline, or if there was a preexisting condition.
Blobs of oil and other tar balls werehed ashore after the spillage. This caused a week-long closure of beaches, which disrupted local economies and killed many birds. Environmental activists claim that the damage was much less than originally thought. However, it is not known what the long-term effects will be on marine life and wetlands.
This week, a group of environmental groups demanded that the Biden Administration cancel all oil and gas leases in federal waters near the California coast.
A petition was submitted by the Center for Biological Diversity along with about 30 other organizations. It argued that the Department of the Interior is able to terminate these leases, and that the platforms that have been around for decades are particularly vulnerable to problems due to their age. The agency declined comment.
