Gov. Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County on Wednesday, as officials pressed on with a full-scale clean-up effort for the environmental mess that resulted from Tuesday’s oil spill near Refugio State Beach.
The resulting oil slicks had expanded to at least nine square miles, and the latest worst-case estimate issued by authorities was that 2,500 barrels, or 105,00 gallons of crude oil, had spilled.
Oil in the ocean had spread miles away from the source site, a ruptured 24-inch underground pipe belonging to Plains All American Pipeline that sent crude from offshore wells pouring through a culvert, under Highway 101 and the railroad tracks to the shoreline.
U.S. Coast Guard Capt. Jennifer Williams said said there are two large oil slicks, stretching along the coast and out to sea. That’s more than was anticipated Tuesday night, when officials expected overnight spread of two to four miles.
“It’s possible it could hit Goleta,” she said Wednesday night.
The slicks had spread about five miles to the northwest of the beach, toward Gaviota and Point Conception, and five miles to the east, toward Goleta, Isla Vista and Santa Barbara. If people see oil in the water, they should get out of the ocean and report it, she added.
More resources are coming to the scene, to help do clean-up and wildlife rescue, which is organized through an incident command that includes several federal, state and county agencies.
Santa Barbara County’s Emergency Operations Center was activated, and the Coast Guard and Environmental Protection Agency are heading the incident command post at Refugio State Beach.
Authorities were asking people to stay away from Refugio Beach, which is closed and considered a hazardous-materials area.
As of Wednesday night, California State Parks had closed El Capitan State Beach and campground, and both El Capitan and Refugio were expected to be closed through May 28 and perhaps longer.
Public Health officials were reviewing air, water and soil testing at the spill site and nearby areas, and had not picked up any hazardous results for air testing, county Public Health Director Dr. Takashi Wada said. Testing will continue throughout the clean-up phases, he said.
Campground visitors complained of headaches and ear, nose and throat irritation Tuesday, but no one has needed medical attention, Wada said.
The county Public Health Department warned of potential health impacts from direct contact with oil, which can cause skin irritation, illness from eating contaminated fish or seafood, and the possibility of headaches, nausea, confusion, respiratory difficulties and irritation from breathing oil fumes.
Public Health officials were advising people to avoid the oil spill areas.
The California Department of Fish and Wildlife has issued a no-fishing closure for the area one mile west of Refugio State Beach and one mile east of the beach, in addition to a temporary ban on taking shellfish.
Although witnesses have reported seeing oil-covered sea birds and dead fish at the scene, the Department of Fish and Wildlife has no numbers on impacted wildlife. The state Oil Spill Prevention and Response office reported five pelicans in a rehabilitation facility Wednesday night, with more crews out collecting impacted wildlife.
State and federal agencies were working closely with the Oiled Wildlife Care Network to do rescue operations, and anyone who sees an oil-impacted animal is asked not to try and help it themselves, but to call the OWCN at 877.823.6926.
There was still no estimate of how much oil was spilled, but the worst-case scenario of 105,000 gallons was released Wednesday night by Plains representatives. They estimate that about 21,000 gallons made it into the water, pipeline operations director Rick McMichael said.
Authorities reported 20 barrels were removed from the ocean and 100 barrels from the shoreline as of Wednesday morning, which is 5,040 gallons of crude oil.
EPA investigators hadn’t determined a cause for the spill, federal on scene incident commander Michelle Rogow said.
They expect to uncover the pipeline on Thursday, and may have more information about the cause of the leak. They also are working with the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, which regulates the pipeline.
The ruptured pipe is a 24-inch transportation line owned by Plains, which uses it to carry crude oil north from ExxonMobil’s Las Flores Canyon processing facility.
The underground pipe was built in 1987 and is frequently inspected, including two weeks ago — though results of that inspection aren’t known yet, Plains spokesman Darren Palmer said.
It carries 2,000 barrels an hour — 84,000 gallons — and was operating at full capacity at the time of the spill, Palmer said.
Plains has taken responsibility for the spill and will be paying for the response effort, which has no estimated cost yet.
Plains also reportedly has a monitoring system to check flow rates and pressure systems, but there was no automatic shutdown of the pipe — it was a manual shutdown after county employees notified Plains of the leak, according to Palmer.
“How come our people had to be the ones to notify them?” Third District county Supervisor Doreen Farr asked Wednesday.
McMichael and Plains CEO Greg Armstrong later said that there had been “mechanical issues” with pump stations at Las Flores Canyon and in Sisquoc, and there were several shutdowns of the pipe on Tuesday morning, including at the time the spill was reported.
Plains staff “noticed a pressure anomaly,” they said Wednesday night.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to the scene first, and personnel traced the spill to its source, Capt. David Zaniboni said.
County staff will be conducting their own investigation into the cause of the spill, which Second District Supervisor Janet Wolf called the “worst nightmare scenario.”
“This is more than just an inconvenience, this is a disaster,” Farr said.
The city of Goleta, about 10 miles southeast of Refugio State Beach, is preparing for the worst — the spill reaching town.
“We’re devastated,” Mayor Paula Perotte said.
Agencies know people want to help, and are directing volunteers to California Volunteers and CalSpillWatch. There are no volunteers requested for cleanup or wildlife rescue efforts right now. Incident command has set up a hotline to update people about potential volunteer opportunities at 1.800.228.4544.
A California Conservation Corps crew from Camarillo is heading to the scene to help with cleanup, supervisor Jeremy Day told Noozhawk. The 13-person crew is expected to help clean-up efforts for five days, through the Memorial Day weekend, he said. They are all trained to the level of hazmat first responders and a few members have additional training, he said.
Incident updates are being released by the agencies in charge and a website has been established with more information.
— Noozhawk news editor Giana Magnoli can be reached at gmagnoli@noozhawk.com. Follow Noozhawk on Twitter: @noozhawk, @NoozhawkNews and @NoozhawkBiz. Connect with Noozhawk on Facebook.
