Wildlife, pristine beaches focus of ‘aggressive’ oil spill cleanup
Oil pipeline company officials said Wednesday that as many as 105,000 gallons
of crude oil may have spilled from a ruptured pipeline on the California
coast.
The 24-inch pipeline ruptured along the Santa Barbara coast, leaking the oil
near Refugio State Beach, a protected state park, just before Memorial Day
weekend marks the start of the summer tourist season.
Houston-based Plains All American Pipeline based the estimate — what it
called a worst-case scenario — on the typical flow rate of oil and the elevation
of the pipeline, said Rick McMichael, the company’s director of pipeline
operations.
The pipeline is still underground, so it will take a few days to determine
how much crude oil was actually spilled.
McMichael told reporters an estimated 21,000 gallons of crude had gone into
the Pacific Ocean.
The cause of the spill was still being investigated, he said, but there were
problems Tuesday morning at two of the company’s pump stations.
Plains Chairman Greg Armstrong said he was deeply sorry for the spill.
“We apologize for the damage that has been done to the wildlife and to the
environment, and we’re very sorry for the disruption and inconvenience that it
has caused the citizens and visitors of this area,” he said.
MORE….
http://www.cnn.com/2015/05/20/us/california-oil-spill/index.html
