Community Corner

Orange County Oil Spill Lawsuits Add Up As USA Surf Competition Cancels In Huntington.

With large-scale events canceling, like this weekend's U.S. Open of Surfing, it may take months to learn the repercussions of the oil spill.

Ashley Ludwig's profile picture
Ashley Ludwig, Patch StaffVerified Patch Staff Badge
|
Five oiled snowy plovers were recovered from the Orange County spill area. The threatened species is protected to promote population recovery. All five birds were stabilized and are receiving rehabilitative care.
Five oiled snowy plovers were recovered from the Orange County spill area. The threatened species is protected to promote population recovery. All five birds were stabilized and are receiving rehabilitative care. (Courtesy of Petty Officer 1st Class Richard Brahm )

ORANGE COUNTY, CA — The weekend's Huntington Beach surfing contest was put on hold because of ongoing oil spill cleanup along the Orange County coastline.

Surf City Days, a community event that highlights businesses in downtown Huntington Beach, was postponed because of the large-scale oil spill from a pipeline off the Orange County coast, organizers said.

The leak originated from a broken pipeline off Huntington Beach connected to the drilling rig nicknamed Elly last Friday. The ensuing oil slick brought Orange County's coastal communities to a standstill not seen since the pandemic.

Find out what's happening in Orange Countyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

As of Friday, more than 900 people were aiding in the response to the spill, many at work on the shores of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach and Corona del Mar.

Members of the Orange County shoreline cleanup and assessment team work in the vicinity of Corona del Mar State Beach Park on Wednesday. The crews worked alongside federal, state and local partners. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Janessa Warschkow)

Lawsuits Loom As Another Event Cancels

The oil spill has disrupted the massive Huntington Beach Pacific Air Show, fouled the ocean and beaches and endangered countless wetlands and wildlife in Orange Count over the last seven days.

Find out what's happening in Orange Countyfor free with the latest updates from Patch.

The spill is causing financial effects in the coastal cities of Huntington Beach, Newport Beach, Dana Point and Laguna Beach.

All surfing, sailing, fishing, tourism and large-scale events such as the airshow and this weekend's U.S. Open of Surfing were canceled. It could take weeks or months to understand the full effects of the spill, experts said.

Now, lawsuits against those thought to be responsible are being filed.

Multiple lawsuits are underway against Amplify Energy Corp., the oil pipeline company thought responsible for the oil spill in Orange County.

A family in Laguna Beach was the first to file against the company that owned the pipeline that ruptured, leaking at least 30,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific Ocean.

Read: 1st Came Oil Spill, Next Come Lawsuits: Laguna Beach Couple Sues

A Huntington Beach surf school also filed suit against the energy company. The proposed class-action lawsuit on behalf of Orange County businesses seeks unspecified damages related to the oil spill.

Jaz Kaner owns the Banzai Surf School, which has operated in the seaside community for more than a dozen years. Kaner alleged that he will lose tens of thousands of dollars in early October alone due to the spill, according to the complaint filed late Thursday in U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

On Wednesday, Laguna Beach waterfront property owners sued Amplify Energy in the same federal court, seeking damages for loss of enjoyment, potentially lower property values and diminished rental income.

Earlier in the week, Peter Moses Gutierrez Jr., who operates an Orange County party DJ company, filed the first proposed class-action suit against Amplify Energy and its subsidiary, Beta Offshore, alleging loss of income and possible damage to his health.

SEE: 16 Photos That Show The Devastation Of CA's Massive Oil Spill

At a news conference Thursday, the U.S. Coast Guard estimated that roughly 588 barrels of oil had spilled, which would equate to about 24,700 gallons. That's considered a minimum amount leaked. Officials remained unsure how much more oil has spilled into the ocean. That number remains an estimate as the final tally has yet to be revealed.

Members from the Orange County shoreline cleanup conduct cleanup operations on Talbert Marsh on Thursday. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Janessa Warschkow.)

Kaner and other local business owners said they have suffered "business and commercial losses by their proximity to the spill and the stigma associated with operating so near to the spill," according to the suit.

Read: Is Orange County Oil Spill Smaller Than Originally Thought?

The suit aimed to recover business and commercial losses and other damages suffered by all owners and operators of local businesses near the spill, Kaner's lawyer told reporters.

Amplify Energy did not immediately answer a message seeking comment about the suit.

Workers removed 5,500 gallons of crude oil from the water. Another 13 barrels of tarballs were removed from area beaches, along with 172,500 pounds of oiled sand, according to figures from the unified cleanup command.

Meanwhile, crews surveyed and cleaned beaches up and down the coast and deployed more than 14,000 feet of containment boom to keep oil in the water from reaching the shore.

Cleanup efforts continued Wednesday on area beaches. (U.S. Coast Guard photo by Petty Officer 3rd Class Janessa Warschkow)

On the sand, hazmat-suited workers monitored, inspected and cleaned visible oil and tar from the beaches.

Teams will keep working for the foreseeable future, and more teams are headed to north San Diego County from the Santa Margarita River to La Jolla Shores. Fishing is closed in waters off the coast from Seal Beach to Camp Pendleton. The spill has disrupted sport fishing and lobster fishing off the coast as well.

As of Thursday night, uncounted numbers of dead fish had washed up on shore, primarily bottom feeders, Dana Wharf Sportfishing & Whale Watching told Patch.

Some 35 oiled seabirds were recovered from the sands and wetlands, the Oiled Wildlife Care Network and University of California, Davis' School of Veterinary Medicine reported . Of them, 10 had died. On Thursday, 11 birds were recovered, five of which were dead.

The dead birds included an American coot, a black-crowned night heron, three Brandt's cormorants, three double-crested cormorants, one red-footed booby and one western gull.

Among the birds being rehabilitated and cleaned were an American coot, a brown pelican, a California gull, a Clark's grebe, a double-crested cormorant, an eared grebe, a ruddy duck, three sanderlings, seven snowy plovers, seven western grebes and one western gull.

This view of a ruddy duck being cleaned showed the state in which rescuers found the bird and the effort it took to assist it in recovery.

A ruddy duck is cleaned by experts after being immersed in oil. (Courtesy of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, University of California, Davis veterinarians and the Wetlands and Wildlife Conservation Center)

To date, no sick or oiled mammals have been recovered.

A ruddy duck after cleaning. (Courtesy of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network, University of California, Davis veterinarians and the Wetlands and Wildlife Conservation Center)

If residents to the spill site see oiled wildlife, please call 1-877-UCD-OWCN (823-6926) and report immediately. DO NOT PICK UP OILED WILDLIFE.

Beaches Are Slowly Reopening South Of Newport, Corona Del Mar

The county on Thursday reopened the beaches under its jurisdiction in Dana Point.

Laguna Beach, where gulls are seen flying and at the water's edge, Friday. (Susana Cruciana, photo).

Friday, Laguna Beach declared it would reopen the beach, though ocean swimming would remain off-limits for the time being.

Read: Oil Spill Cleanup Underway, Laguna Beach Cautiously Optimistic

It was not known how long beaches to the north of Crystal Cove would remain closed as workers continued to scoop up tar and oil from the massive spill.

The spill was not reported until 9 a.m. Saturday. Some people reported smelling oil in the water the night before.

Read More About The Southland Oil Spill:

The Associated Press, City News Service and Patch staffers Kat Schuster, Miranda Ceja and Paige Austin contributed to this report.

Get more local news delivered straight to your inbox. Sign up for free Patch newsletters and alerts.

More from Orange County