The rupture was first reported to Santa Barbara officials around noontime today when witnesses noticed massive plumes of petroleum along Refugio State Beach. It took the Coast Guard about three hours to repair the break.
It took an additional three-and-a-half hours for the Coast Guard to find what they called the “responsible party.” They were identified as the Houston, Texas-based energy infrastructure company Plains All American Pipeline.
Richard Abrams of the Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management told the Santa Barbara Independent the ruptured pipeline, which runs along the coast next to Highway 101, is no longer in use. The crude oil left in the pipeline apparently ran out through the ruptured section.
Plains All America Pipeline could not be reached for comment.
Alexia Retallack, a spokeswoman for the California Office of Spill Prevention and Response said federal, state, and local authorities are now on the scene to investigate the cause of the pipeline rupture and coordinate cleanup activities. The state agency is saying they aren’t sure just yet what type of oil escaped from the pipeline.
Even though the Coast Guard has estimated that about 21,000 gallons of oil escaped, state officials have declined to give an estimate just yet until the investigation is complete. Retallack said, “Everyone would like a number, but we can’t provide one we’re comfortable with.”
The scenic and beautiful stretch of coastline is home to a number of public beaches, popular with campers. The spill comes at a most inopportune time, with the big Memorial Day weekend coming up. This stretch of coastline is also home to many offshore oil rigs and drilling operations, and small amounts of tar and oil seepage do show up on beaches, but officials say it isn’t very much.
The Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center (EDC) said the spill was expected to come at some time, being an inevitable consequence of coastal oil development. “To see this level of spill into such a sensitive and treasured environment is devastating to watch,” the EDC said in a statement.
