An oil spill of more than 126,000 gallons off the coast of southern California has washed up on shores, closing beaches and damaging wildlife.
via: CNN
A pipeline breach occurred about 5 miles off the coast of Huntington Beach, Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said Sunday.
“We’ve started to find dead birds and fish washing up on the shore,” Foley said.
“The oil has infiltrated the entirety of the (Talbert) Wetlands. There’s significant impacts to wildlife there,” she said. “These are wetlands that we’ve been working with the Army Corps of Engineers, with the Land Trust, with all the community wildlife partners to make sure to create this beautiful, natural habitat for decades. And now in just a day, it’s completely destroyed.”
A total of 1,218 gallons of oily water mixture have been recovered from the spill, the United States Coast Guard said in a statement.
“This response is currently a 24/7 operation and response efforts are scheduled to continue until federal and state officials determine that the response to the crude oil spill is complete,” the USCG statement read.
It said that one oiled Ruddy duck has been collected and is receiving veterinary care and other reports of oiled wildlife are being investigated.
The National Transportation Safety Board announced on Twitter that it’s sending investigators to gather information and assess the source of the oil spill. CNN has reached out to the NTSB for further details.
The pipeline is owned by the Houston-based oil and gas company Amplify Energy, its president and CEO Martyn Willsher said at a news conference Sunday afternoon.
Significant ecological impacts in HB.
o Oil has washed up now onto the HB beachfront.
· We’ve started to find dead birds & fish washing up on the shore.o @Calwild has a hotline for wildlife impacted from the oil. Oiled Wildlife Care Network at (877) 823-6926. pic.twitter.com/rtgExxTXZj
— Supervisor Katrina Foley (@SupervisorFoley) October 3, 2021
Since the spill, mostly birds and fish have washed ashore but dolphins have also been spotted swimming through the oil slick.
