A 126,000-gallon oil spill from an offshore rig – the largest spill in Orange County in three decades – led to major ecological damage in Huntington Beach over the weekend, prompting officials to close beaches that could remain off-limits for weeks or months.
U.S. Rep. Michelle Steel (R-48), whose district includes Huntington and Newport beaches and other coastal cities, said she asked President Biden on Sunday to approve disaster relief.
The U.S. Coast Guard is leading the response to the spill, which covers about 5.8 nautical miles between the Huntington Beach Pier and Newport Beach. The oil emanated from a facility operated by Beta Offshore, and likely was caused by a pipeline leak.
The City of Huntington Beach canceled the third day of the Pacific Airshow on Sunday to facilitate cleanup and reduce health impacts. By afternoon, all city and state beaches south of Seapoint to the Santa Ana River jetty were closed. Newport Beach later closed beaches at the waterline. And Laguna Beach announced that all city beaches would close at 9 p.m. Sunday. The city asked that people pay close attention to closure or warning signs posted at or near beach areas.
“Though the spill has not yet reached the shoreline of Laguna Beach, Laguna Beach Marine Safety, Fire, Public Works, and Police personnel are anticipating this may happen and are ready to respond. Beach closures are needed to protect the health and safety of the public and to allow contractors to begin oil cleanup if such an event occurs,” a city statement said.
As of Sunday evening Newport Harbor remains open. Boaters are being asked to avoid traversing the oil spill as it may cling to vessels and could bring oil into the harbor. Oil Spill Response Vessels will be skimming oil off the coast throughout the night.
— City of Newport Beach (@newportbeachgov) October 4, 2021
Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said the spill – which officials estimate is at least 126,000 gallons or 3,000 barrels of oil – initially was reported Saturday morning, though some Newport Beach residents said they smelled a foul odor on Friday.
On Sunday, the oil continued to spill from the pipeline breach location connected to Platform Elly. The refining facility is just over 7 miles off the coast of Long Beach. It is operated by Beta Operating Company, LLC, formed in 2009.
An incident command spokesperson said the spill probably would not exceed 144,000 gallons. Carr said even at 126,000 gallons, the leak is a historic catastrophe for the city: “One of the most devastating in decades.”
The oil also seeped into the Talbert Marshlands and the Santa Ana River Trail.
“We are starting to see oil-covered fish and birds washing up along our coastline,” Carr said.
Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley said the spill killed some fish and birds.
Emergency officials don’t yet know when the spill began, Carr said Sunday afternoon. She said the spill’s estimate could go above 3,000 barrels.
“We do believe it to be more than that,” she said.
Beach closures in the city could last anywhere “from a few weeks to a few months,” she said.
Skimming equipment and booms were deployed to prevent the inflow of oil into the Bolsa Chica Ecological Reserve and Huntington Beach Wetlands, city officials said. The California Department of Fish & Wildlife has also set up the Oiled Wildlife Care Network hotline, at 877-823-6926, for people to call if they see wildlife impacted from the oil.
Health officials warned people not to swim, surf or exercise by the beach because of the potential health hazards, including toxic fumes.
Beta Offshore employees were performing an inspection Saturday morning when they discovered an oily sheen on the water, said Martyn Willsher, CEO of Beta Offshore’s parent company, Amplify Energy Corp. They immediately notified authorities, he said.
The oil was seen rising from a line that runs about 80-100 feet below the water’s surface, between the shoreline and Elly, a facility fed by about 70 separate wells, Willsher said.
The pipe has a capacity of 126,000 gallons. It and the platform it is connected to were built between the late ’70s and early ’80s, and have been regularly maintained, Willsher said.
Any remaining heavy crude inside the line was suctioned out Saturday evening, and it was completely shut down. The flow of oil into the ocean had slowed dramatically by Sunday, he said.
In Newport Beach, palm-size clumps of oil and tar already washed ashore and birds were observed covered in oil on Sunday.
“We are seeing impacted wildlife, oiled wildlife,” said Newport Beach Marine Safety chief Mike Halphide.
Lifeguards asked people to stay clear of the area. Newport Beach officials said oil was spotted Sunday on the beach between 52nd Street and the Santa Ana River.
Halphide said the oil was first seen coming to shore at about 10 p.m. Saturday, and by Sunday morning clumps of oil 2-to-5 inches in diameter were spotted on the sand.
State Parks spokesman Kevin Pearsall said the staff has been advised to not go onto the beach because of the hazards.
The type of oil spilled – already processed – is especially dangerous, Pearsall was told.
See also: Oil spill underscores urgency to shut wells, environmentalists say
He said Saturday was one of the busiest days on the sand likely in Huntington Beach’s history, surpassing Fourth of July crowds, with likely 1 million people along the shoreline and viewing the air show.
“We couldn’t see, the beach was full of people,” he said.
About 1.5 million people attended the air show Saturday, officials said.
Likely, the amount of revenue lost to State Parks and other cities will be in the millions just from closing the beach Sunday, Pearsall said.
Alicia Whitney, a restaurateur who just months ago opened several concessions along Huntington State Beach, said Sunday’s closure follows her best day of business yet.
“I’m at such a loss, I can’t believe we were on such a high yesterday and such a low today,” she said. “The show, the weather, smiles ear-to-ear, we were packed, we had a great day … Not only are we shutting down today, but our beautiful beach we’re so passionate about has been damaged. More importantly, the beautiful dolphins and marine life out there swimming in oil. It’s so disturbing.”
She added, “Can you imagine all the visitors who got hotel rooms or flew into town?”
Saturday night’s low tide exposed lines of black oil stuck on the sand across the waterline.
Pearsall said the greatest concentration seemed to be near the Santa Ana River Jetty, near Huntington State Beach and Newport’s border. Bolsa Chica State Beach remained open.
He said people who are hoping to volunteer with a clean-up effort should stay clear, for now.
“We’re asking people to not come and volunteer until we can assess the damage and the severity of the problem,” he said.
Royce Hutain, who lives in Huntington Beach, said he noticed the oil while on a boat in the ocean on Saturday as he watched the air show.
“At some point in the afternoon, we noticed it coming right by us, all the stuff floating by,” he said. “It looked like clumpy poop. At first we thought it was someone dumping their tank. You could see the oily sheen … I didn’t realize it was a spill at that point, I thought it was just random stuff going by.”
In Huntington Beach, spectators were disappointed the air show was canceled but tried to make up for it.
Retired sisters Sharon Martin and Barbara Truitt, of Fountain Valley, were looking forward to the show after last year’s cancellation.
“The noise, the people, the beautiful planes – it’s exciting,” said Truitt, as the two unloaded bicycles from their car at Bolsa Chica State Beach. She added, “I feel for all the wildlife.”
Carlos Luna, 60, left his home in West Covina at 5 a.m. with his wife, daughter, son-in-law and two grandchildren. They arrived before sunrise, hoping to beat the lines, only to find out that Huntington State Beach was closed. But having brought provisions to spend the day, they drove instead to Bolsa Chica State Beach, set up their table and brought out the food.
“We decided that since we were already here, have breakfast, and make the best of it,” he said.
The Coast Guard is coordinating the response and investigating how the spill occurred. The most current information indicates the leak has not been completely stopped but preliminary patching was completed to repair the oil spill site, and repair efforts were being attempted Sunday.
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
Foley – who represents the cities of Newport Beach and Huntington Beach – said the damage from the spill could be irreversible. She wrote that Newport Beach Mayor Brad Avery “hit the oil slick in his boat … heading back from Catalina. He saw dolphins swimming thru the oil.”
Got lost and found a family who picked up a struggling sea bird covered in oil from Huntington Beach.
"We could see it flapping" just onshore amid oily water.
They jumped off the pedal cart they rented then brought the bird to lifeguards. pic.twitter.com/xTDqqQbiFu
— Josh Cain (@joshpcain) October 3, 2021
A unified command consisting of Beta Offshore, the Coast Guard and the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response has been established to respond to an oil spill off the coast of Newport Beach.
Read more here:https://t.co/SUxIjBf0L5
— USCG Los Angeles (@USCGLosAngeles) October 3, 2021
She said she could “feel the vapor in the air,” while inspecting the damage along the beach Sunday morning. People exposed to the chemicals floating onto the sand and evaporating into the air may experience skin, eye nose and throat irritation as well as vomiting and other possible symptoms, Orange County Health Care Director Dr. Clayton Chau said. He recommended that anyone exposed to contaminated materials seek medical attention.
An estimated 3,400 birds were killed when the American Trader oil tanker ran over its anchor and punctured its hull on Feb. 7, 1990, spilling an estimated 416,600 gallons of crude oil off the coast of Huntington Beach, according to the California Department of Fish and Wildlife website.
As a result of the spill, the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center was established March 31, 1998, at 21900 Pacific Coast Highway to help injured and orphaned wildlife including oil-soiled birds. A makeshift facility at that site treated birds injured in the American Trader spill in 1990, according to the center’s website.
Most of the American Trader cleanup took place during February and March 1990, and most of the beaches were cleaned and opened to the public by March 2. All of the shoreline cleaning was completed by April 3.
“This oil spill is a tragic reminder that offshore drilling is a devastating threat to our coast and its wildlife,” said Miyoko Sakashita, director of the Center for Biological Diversity’s Oceans program. “I’ve seen the aging oil platforms off Huntington Beach up close, and I know it’s past time to decommission these time bombs. Even after fines and criminal charges, the oil industry is still spilling and leaking into California’s coastal waters because these companies just aren’t capable of operating safely. The only solution is to shut this dirty business down.”
As of Sunday, a total of 1,218 gallons of oily water mixture had been recovered, nine boats were dispatched for oil spill recovery operations, three shoreline assessment teams were dispatched and 3,700 feet of boom were deployed.
CDFW has declared a fishery closure for coastal areas impacted by the oil spill. More details and a map can be found here:https://t.co/wmZ9HZKUW6
— CDFW Spill Prevention & Response (@CalSpillWatch) October 4, 2021
A claims number was set up by Amplify Energy Corp. for anyone who thinks they were affected by the incident at 866-985-8366 (reference Pipeline P00547).
A major disaster declaration by the president would make federal assistance available for state and local agencies working to respond to the spill.
Staff writers Josh Cain, Susan Christian Goulding and City News Service contributed to this report.
