5/19/15 CA oil spill, Refugio Beach

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This is where I grew up surfing
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http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-pipeline-santa-barbara-coast-20150519-story.html

http://abc7.com/news/refugio-state-beach-oil-spill-massive-cleanup-ahead/732157/


24" pipeline rupture on the mountain side of the freeway, oil flowed down a drainage culvert and into the ocean
was shut off in about 3 hours, it sounds like, with estimated 21,000 gallons spilled


Such a bummer


Also a was a great dive site. Glad we dove it a few months ago, as it won't be the same for a long, long time.
 
Really sad, but it looks like they are at least trying to get it contained.

My mom got to fly over the 1969 oil spill thanks to the test pilot for AeroSpacelines being a family friend.
 
An ugly and unfortunate event.
Also an inevitable consequence of our reliance on liquid fuels.
There is no perfect system and as long as we recover and transport the stuff, we'll have spills.
 
Originally Posted By: fdcg27
There is no perfect system and as long as we recover and transport the stuff, we'll have spills.


Best logic on the entire topic. Whether it be a pipeline or rail, the risk of spills still remains a constant issue.
 
Originally Posted By: zzyzzx
Wouldn't it be easier to jut light a match?


In a remote area that would probably be the best solution, but I doubt the Santa Barbarians want to put up with a billowing cloud of soot.
 
Just got an automated call on my cell from the City of Goleta saying that the slick is expected to be at Goleta Beach later today. That means it is already past the Ellwood Bluffs (pretty much where I live) and will be all over the beach in Isla Vista also. I just think about the seal pups I used to be able to hear from my bedroom (thanks UCSB for ruining that) and what they have coming to them.

I am by no means an environmentalist, but seeing the animals covered in oil really breaks my heart. I personally don't go to the beach that often, except to eat at certain restaurants on the beach because the atmosphere, and food, is amazing.
 
"Plains All American Pipeline 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."

reminds me of:



More and more sources are saying it was likely 100,000 gallons or so that leaked now.
Possibly 20,000 into the ocean?
Long list of past violations from Plains (as would be expected in any similar case - you won't find any historically operating company without various gov't violations)

Regardless of the cause - it sucks it happened and I feel very sorry for all the animals that are unable to escape from it.

Our last dive day there in Feb or Mar was beautiful. Refugio and nearby Tajiguas beaches are well known to house many Spanish Shawls - a nudibranch (or sea slug) that is a distinguishing species in our area.
Spanish%20Shawl%20Nudibranch.jpg


Lots of lobsters also among the many creatures we saw. I'm hoping the crude isn't settling onto the ocean bottom easily and can be skimmed off the water or shore (although any intertidal zones will be devastated).
 
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