Emergency response team investigating oil sheen reported off Huntington Beach
“We’re in an information collecting dynamic right now, there’s nothing visual on the beaches right now. We’re just gathering information and trying to figure out with all the partners what we are doing and what we need to prepare for.”
HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — A report of a 2-mile-long oil sheen off Huntington Beach’s coast prompted an investigation Friday morning, March 8, with county, state and federal emergency response teams deployed to figure out if it is a spill that poses a hazard.
The United States Coast Guard received a report about 7 p.m. on Thursday, March 7, from the National Response Center about the sheen on the ocean’s surface off Huntington Beach’s coast, said Coast Guard Petty Officer
Richard Brahm.
It was too dark to investigate, so the
Orange County Sheriff ’s Department deployed a “first light” inspection team, locating the approximate 2-mile sheen, he said.
A news release from the Coast Guard said the spill was about 2.8 miles off Huntington Beach near two oil platforms, Emmy and Eva.
State Sen. Dave Min released a statement indicating the reports of the sheen came from oil operators on Platform Emmy.
The Office of Spill Prevention and Response, under the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, is investigating the source of the sheen and whether the incident is an active oil spill, Min noted.
Orange County Fifth District Supervisor Katrina Foley posted an alert up on social media about the response, stating “early thoughts are that it’s from a platform.”
While it could be an oil spill, it could also be natural seepage, Brahm said. There have been no reports from tankers or oil wells about potential spills.
“We’re not sure,” he said, noting that teams have taken samples to determine the source.
The role of the Coast Guard is to identify the oil, determine cleanup needs and impacts, he said. “Our goal right now is to identify potential impacts and cleanup.”
State Parks and Huntington Beach city representatives said Friday morning there had been no signs of oil on shore.
“We’re in an information collecting dynamic right now, there’s nothing visual on the beaches right now,” State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall said. “We’re just gathering information and trying to figure out with all the partners what we are doing and what we need to prepare for.”
An oil spill in 2021 off Huntington Beach released 25,000 gallons of oil into the ocean, closing coastal access for weeks in some areas, killing wildlife and impacting businesses. That spill prompted federal investigations, lawsuits and ongoing discussions about oil production off the coast.
The response on Friday was in a stark difference to the 2021 spill, when there were delays in identifying the magnitude of the spill and who would be in charge of the response.
“It’s definitely better, it’s more efficient. Everyone is involved now, instead of trying to figure out who is involved,” said Pearsall. “Because we have the experience in it now, as sad as it is, we are more prepared and we’re acting a lot quicker than we did last time.”
Pearsall said there had already been discussion about the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response putting out booms and about the cleanup process so the oil doesn’t come to shore like it did during the 2021 spill, which required a massive remediation effort in the days and weeks following.
The Coast Guard has hired an oil spill response organization to conduct offshore oil collection and is working to identify possible impacts to the shoreline and environmental protection strategies.
One bird, a Western Grebe, was spotted near Tower 14 at Huntington State Beach with what looked like a dark coloration and was taken to the nearby Wetlands & Wildlife Care Center, through the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, to be assessed, Pearsall said.
The public is asked not to approach impacted animals if observed and to call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-8236926.
Amplify Energy Corp., which owned the pipeline that ruptured in 2021 leading to that spill, sent out a news statement
Friday that it is aware of reports of an oil sheen off the coast and “at this time, we have no indication that this sheen is related to our operations.”
“We will continue to cooperate with the U.S. Coast Guard and other relevant authorities and provide support in any way we can,” the oil company said in its statement.
In August 2022, Amplify pleaded guilty in federal court to a single charge of negligently dumping oil, a result of the company’s poor response between the first leak-detection alarms that went off in the 2021 spill and notifying authorities 14 hours later. Amplify agreed to pay about $13 million to local governments and the
U.S. Coast Guard, and to install a new leak detection system.
Amplify and its insurance carriers also agreed to pay $50 million to settle class action claims made by local fishing interests, tourism companies and homeowners, among others. Since then, shipping companies that dragged anchors into the pipeline agreed to pay
$85 million to Amplify. Those companies also agreed to pay $45 million to the companies and homeowners covered in the class action.
In September, a federal judge signed off on the
$95 million class-action settlement.
State Parks Superintendent Kevin Pearsall