California officials are investigating possible oil spill near Huntington Beach
The U.S. Coast Guard said Friday it was investigating an oil sheen that appeared to be nearly 4 miles long and a half-mile wide off the coast of Huntington Beach, California. It was not clear what the cause was.
The Coast Guard received one National Response Center Report Thursday around 7 p.m. of an “unknown substance in the water” about 1.5 miles offshore, said Richard Brahm, a Coast Guard spokesman.
Pollution responders from the Coast Guard, California Department of Fish and Wildlife, Huntington Beach lifeguards and the Orange County Sheriff’s Office investigated throughout the night and into the morning. The investigation was still ongoing late Friday morning.
“Right now we are trying to find out if there are possible sources for the spill,” Mr Brahm said, adding that there were offshore oil platforms in the area but it was too early to know what caused it. “It could have been natural seepage, it could have been a drain. We don’t know for sure.”
Mr Brahm said the aim was to “prevent this from having as much impact on the environment as possible, and to clean it up.” He said spills normally break up on their own if they are offshore and not originating from a continuous flow or source.
The Southern California US Coast Guard said a message on social media that officials planned to use aerial surveys “to assess the extent and potential impact.”
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said on social media that it was possible that the oil was leaking from an offshore platform, but Mr. Brahm called that possibility “speculation.” When such spills have occurred in the past, the companies operating the platforms have sent a report to the Coast Guard and other officials.
“If it is one of the platforms, we will obviously hold them accountable and work with them,” Mr. Brahm said. “They will be the responsible party and they will clean it up, but right now it’s all under investigation and we’re trying to figure it out.”
In 2021, a pipeline failure off the coast of Orange County released tens of thousands of gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean, killing fish and birds and infiltrating nearby Talbert Marsh. At the time, a 13-mile smooth stretch stretched from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach. The spill involved a failure in a 28.5 kilometer pipeline connected to an offshore oil platform operated by Beta Offshore.
California Governor Gavin Newsom said on social media on Friday, state officials said they were “actively monitoring” the situation.
“We have deployed staff to evaluate the incident and will continue to coordinate with local, state and federal partners,” he wrote.