Tar and oil spotted on Devereux and Sands beaches near UC Santa Barbara over the weekend are from “natural seep events,” a county spokesperson confirmed to Noozhawk.

Members of the public submitted multiple reports of tar and oil sightings to the California Governor’s Office of Emergency Services (Cal OES) over the weekend, stating that there was an “unusual amount of liquid tar” present.

Kelsey Gerckens Buttitta, the county’s communications manager, said county staff visited the area recently and “did not observe any unusual amounts of oil or tar.”

Buttitta said staff were also in that area on Monday, “collecting routine ocean water samples and again did not see anything out of the ordinary.”

“At this time, the best indication is that these are natural seep events,” she said.

She added that oil operators are required to notify regulatory agencies when a spill happens, “regardless of volume, and no notifications have been received by county staff.”

Off the coast of Goleta are cracks in the sea floor where natural oil comes through.

That natural seepage can amount to 10,000 gallons of oil and 3.5 million cubic feet of natural gas per day, according to Michael Rattray, who explored the phenomenon in a Noozhawk column last year.

Possible oil leaks or spills can be reported to the National Response Center at 800.424.8802.