CA Oil Spill: 1,600 Responders; 50 Oiled Birds Recovered

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — Crews donning protective gear returned to Orange County beaches on Sunday morning to continue cleaning up one of the largest oil spills in recent Southland history. Response teams also began sampling soil and water in San Onofre on Sunday as the list of closed beaches expanded.

Tar balls were still washing ashore in San Diego and all over Orange County more than one week after a crude oil slick was first spotted off the coast in Southern California. On Sunday, more than 1,600 people were on the ground responding to the spill, according to the Southern California Spill Response.

To date, 5,544 total gallons of crude oil have been recovered by vessel, but officials are still uncertain just how much oil spilled into the ocean last week from a ruptured pipeline that held a maximum of 132,000 gallons of oil. The Coast Guard is now estimating that a minimum of 25,000 gallons of oil spilled from Amplify Energy's ruptured pipeline off the shores of Orange County — welcoming news after the initial estimate of 122,000 gallons.

Officials feared last week that the waters would have to remain closed for months as the cleanup effort continued. On Thursday, Huntington Beach Mayor Kim Carr said she was "cautiously optimistic" that surfers could return to the water in weeks.

Environmentalists are already suspecting the damage won't be as dire as once thought.

“Based on what we're seeing, it's a lighter impact than expected of a worst-case discharge,” California Fish and Wildlife Lt. Christian Corbo said. “We're hoping to see less impacts to the shoreline, less impacts to wildlife, based on that lowered threshold.”

Still, officials are still racing to determine just how devastating the massive spill will be for marine life.

Officials were warning residents to be wary of tar balls, which had reached San Diego County. However, officials did confirm Sunday that no oiled animals have been recovered that far south.

"The public may encounter tarballs on San Diego and Orange County beaches. Oil contains hazardous chemicals, and for safety reasons, we recommend not handling tarballs or any oil," oil spill response officials wrote in a statement. Beachgoers who encounter tar balls were urged to report them here: tarballreports@wildlife.ca.gov.

For those who experienced skin contact with tar balls, they were advised to wash their skin with soap and water or baby oil. People were advised to avoid using solvents, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, or similar products on the skin as these products, when applied to skin, present a greater health hazard than the tar ball itself, officials said.

"My kids surf in those waters...This is not only something that needs to be dealt with on a political level, it is very much a personal level too because this is our part of culture here," Assemblymembers Patrick O'Donnell said at a news conference last week. "These oceans are part of our culture."

The following beaches were open for volleyball, sunbathing and other activities, but visitors must stay out of the water:

• Bolsa Chica State Beach
• Huntington City Beach
• Huntington Beach State Park
• Newport Beach
• West Street Beach
• Crystal Cove State Beach
• Laguna Beach
• Laguna Royale Beach
• Thousand Steps Beach
• Table Rock Beach
• Aliso Beach

Although the spill so far is predicted to be less calamitous than previously thought, the long term fate of the ocean's plant and wildlife remains unknown.

The Oiled Wildlife Care Network reported that its responders had recovered 58 species impacted by the spill as of Sunday, 50 birds and eight fish. Twenty-six of the birds were recovered alive, but all eight of the fish were dead.

The organization was doing extensive recovery from Long Beach Harbor down to Oceanside, field stabilization at the Wetlands and Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, and primary care at the Los Angeles Oiled Bird Care and Education Center — home to International Bird Rescue.

"Absolutely amazing, and makes me so proud of all we have collectively developed to respond quickly and in a coordinated fashion anywhere oil may be oiled!" OWCN director Michael Ziccardi said.

In coastal spill situations, birds are typically among the first creatures to be impacted as heavy crude can adhere to their feathers. At least 10 oiled birds were found dead over five days, and 25 were recovered.. Those recovered include seven snowy plovers, which are a threatened species, according to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

Researchers this week were also shifting to monitor the wellbeing of a precious ecosystem that is seldom considered compared with birds and dolphins — the microbiome.

Scientists from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration were working to determine the impact on bacteria, fungi, algae spores, viruses, zooplankton and some of the smallest fish in the ocean.

"When it comes to the lingering effects of oil slicks on marine organisms, size matters,” John Incardona, a research toxicologist at NOAA’s Northwest Fisheries Science Center in Seattle, told the Los Angeles Times. “Smaller organisms are going to get a bigger dose. Mature animals with gills and livers are generally less vulnerable to the toxic effects of oil."

As heavy crude continued to creep south, investigators were still working to determine whether a ship’s anchor might have snagged, bent and ruptured a pipeline owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy Corp. that shuttles crude from its three offshore platforms to a facility on the shore.

Investigators said Friday that that pipeline was likely damaged by a ship’s anchor several months to a year before the spill. Coast Guard Capt. Jason Neubauer, chief of the office of investigations and analysis, said after the first strike it’s possible other ships’ anchors subsequently struck the steel pipe that brings oil to shore from three platforms out at sea. Investigators previously said a large section of the pipe was bowed after being struck and dragged along the seabed.

It remains unknown just when the slender crack first started leaking oil. No ships have been identified as suspects at this point.

According to data provided Sunday afternoon by the Unified Command handling the cleanup effort:

• More than 1,600 people are conducting response operations
• To date, 5,544 total gallons of crude oil have been recovered by vessel
• 13.6 barrels of tar balls were recovered yesterday
• Approximately 250,000 lb of oily debris has been recovered from shorelines
• Shorelines continue to be surveyed and cleaned
• Two overflights are scheduled for Sunday
• 11,400 feet of containment boom have been strategically deployed

SEE ALSO: Huntington Beach High Could Change Their Mascot "Oil Man" After Orange County's Oil Spill.

"We’re going to be looking at every vessel movement over that pipeline, and every close encroachment from the anchorages for the entire course of the year," Neubauer said.

At a news conference in Huntington Beach Wednesday, Amplify Energy CEO Martyn Willshire faced a barrage of questions about whether Amplify reported the spill in time. Federal officials determined this week that Amplify did not quickly shut down operations after a safety system alerted to a possible spill.

Willshire denied these accusations during the conference, maintaining that Amplify reported the spill as quickly as possible after the company learned of the leak.

At a certain point, Willshire walked away from a reporter's question during Wednesday's news conference, leaving an empty podium at his back.

"We are working with them, giving them all the transparency and information that we have," Willsher said.

As for whether there was an alarm that alerted crews to a pressure drop, he said. "We are conducting a full investigation of that ... to see if there was anything that should have been noticed."

But he questioned whether there were any signs of alarm.

"I'm not sure if there was a significant loss of pressure," Willsher said, adding that when his company's crews saw oil in the water at 8:09 a.m., an emergency response was initiated.

Willsher said his company was also unaware of any reports of a sighting of oil in the water as early as 6 p.m. Friday.

"If we were aware of something (last) Friday night, I promise you we would have immediately stopped all operations and moved forward," he said.

Ever since the devastating 1969 Santa Barbara spill that spurred today's environmental movement, the Golden State has become a role model for restricting offshore oil drilling. But this week's ecological disaster has reignited arguments over whether the state should do away with such drilling altogether.

But that's easier said than done.

The state hasn't issued a new lease for another platform in state water in five decades but drilling from existing facilities continues. Similarly, an effort in Congress that aims to halt new drilling in federal waters — more than 3 miles off the coast — wouldn't stop drilling that's already happening.

Gov. Gavin Newsom said Tuesday during a visit to Orange County that it's easier to resist new drilling than to wind down what already exists.

"Banning new drilling is not complicated," Newsom told reporters. "The deeper question is how do you transition and still protect the workforce?"

He urged a new sense of urgency to curb oil production, including by issuing more permits for well abandonment.

"It's time, once and for all, to disabuse ourselves that this has to be part of our future. This is part of our past," he said.

Elly is one of 23 oil and gas platforms installed in federal waters off the Southern California coast, according to the Interior Department's Bureau of Ocean Energy Management. Besides Elly, a processing facility, there are 20 others that produce oil and gas, and two are being decommissioned.

The offshore platform system has been linked to earlier leaks, including a 2,000-gallon spill that led to a $48,000 federal fine against the operator for improper calibration of a leak-detection system. The corroded pipeline carried oil, water and gas from Eureka to Elly, the Los Angeles Times reported about the 1999 incident.

City News Service and The Associated Press contributed to this report.