Two to four barrels (84 to 168 gallons) of crude oil is estimated to have spilled from a 4-inch pipeline at Greka’s Cal Leasel, 6527 Dominion Road in Santa Maria on Monday morning.
County Fire Engine #23 (Sisquoc) arrived on scene at around 9:37 in the morning to find Greka employees cleaning up the spill alongside a flowing seasonal creek. into which the damaged pipe was leaking. The workers also put absorbent booms into the creek to absorb the oil, however, according to the County Hazardous Materials Unit officer summoned to the site, oil had flowed three-quarters of a mile downstream.
The Hazmat officer reported no detectible levels of toxic gas. Greka intends to have this spill cleaned up by the end of the week. The State Department of Fish and Game and the Federal Environmental Protection Agency are supervising the cleanup, and other agencies, including the Air Pollution Control District and the County Petroleum Division have been notified.