Oil Spill Still Offshore

As of 9:30 a.m. today, December 9, the 1,134 gallon oil spill that resulted from a finger-sized hole in an oil line reservoir on Platform A on Sunday is still about six miles offshore. Carol Singleton, a spokesperson for the California Department of Fish and Game’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), said that although cleanup crews were not able to work through the night, the slick – which has now thinned out and increased in length from one-and-a-half miles long to approximately three miles long – did not make contact with land. Singleton said that there have not been any reports of wildlife impacts, but that there will be an observation flight conducted this morning to determine if there has been any damage caused by the spill. She added that most of the oil had been skimmed from the surface by a fleet of cleanup vessels yesterday.

The incident has been managed by a partnership between OSPR and the U.S. Coast Guard. Dos Cuadras Offshore Resources, LLC – the company, also known simply as DCOR, that owns the faulty platform – has been responsible for deploying cleanup vessels. John Romero, of the U.S. Department of the Interior’s Minerals Management Service, said that an investigation is underway to determine the cause of the leak and what actions are necessary from a regulatory standpoint. The cost of the cleanup is not yet known, he said.

Ironically, Platform A, which is located about six miles offshore from Carpinteria, was the site of the infamous 1969 oil spill that resulted in more than one million gallons of oil gushing into the Santa Barbara Channel. Many believe the incident spawned the modern environmental movement.

To report sightings of oiled wildlife, please call 877-823-6926.