Crews are trying to stop a major oil leak from the coast of Orange County. The oil has left crude oil all over the beaches and threatened wildlife.
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According to the Huntington Beach Police Department, 126,000 gallons crude oil flooded coastal waters near Huntington Beach after a pipeline that was less than 3 miles (4.8 km) from the coast burst on Saturday. The oil slick plume, which ran from Newport Beach to the Huntington Beach Pier, measured 5.8 nautical miles (10.7 km) in length as of Sunday afternoon.
According to the advisory, Huntington Beach was significantly affected by the spillage, which had significant ecological effects at the beach as well as at Huntington Beach Wetlands.
Many endangered and threatened species are found in the area, including the western snowy plovers and the bald Eagle. It is also home to dolphins and humpback whales. Orange County's upervisor Katrina Foley tweeted Sunday that he told her that he saw dolphins in the oil.
According to the Los Angeles Times, Huntington State Beach's sands were blackened by oily water and littered in dead fish and birds by Sunday morning. Talbert Marsh, Huntington Beach's 25-acre wetland, has also been affected by oil.
Officials closed a nearly 4-mile (6.4 km) stretch of oceanfront between the Huntington Beach Pier and the Santa Ana River Jetty this weekend to continue clean-up efforts. They also cancelled the last day of the annual Pacific Airshow scheduled for Sunday. On Saturday, the fifth annual airshow was launched and attracted an estimated 1.5 million people.
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The U.S. Coast Guard is providing assistance to state and county emergency responders. Officials from the city announced Sunday via Twitter that crews had deployed more than 2,000 feet (0.6 km) of protective booms in seven wetland areas. Huntington Beach officials stated that although the leak is not completely contained, preliminary patching was completed in order to fix the oil spillage site. Additional repairs are planned.
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Huntington Beach m ayor Kim Carr stated that we have been working closely with our federal, state, and county partners to reduce the potential ecological catastrophe.
Foley, county supervisor, stated on Twitter that the oil spillage source was a pipeline connecting to Elly, an offshore oil platform. According to the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, Elly is one of three platforms that the Beta Operating Company operates in federal waters off Southern California's coast.
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U.S. Representative Alan Lowenthal, a D emocrat from Orange County, stated that the spillage was both tragic and preventable in a Sunday press release.
He continued, "Drilling can lead to environmental disasters." We are seeing the consequences of oil spillages along our coasts, as we are witnessing. This will have a devastating impact on our marine ecosystem and wildlife, as well as the livelihoods of coastal communities that are based on fishing, tourism and recreation.
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As oil spillages continue to be cleaned up, we should have a better understanding of their environmental impact. Crews will continue to work into next week and Sunday. If several miles of beaches suffocating with tar and petroleum is any indication, it's bad.
Foley explained to the Associated Press that the vapors in the atmosphere are what gives you the taste.
