The Refugio oil spill on May 19, 2015, saving 142,800 US gallons (3,400 barrels of 541,000 liters) of crude oil to one of the most biologically diverse coastlines on the West Coast of the United States. Corrosion pipes blamed for spills have been sealed off indefinitely, resulting in financial impacts on areas estimated at $ 74 million if pipes and pipelines remain inoperative for three years. The cost of cleaning is estimated by the company to be $ 96 million at the overall cost including expected legal claims and settlement potential of approximately $ 257 million.
The oil spill, located just north of Refugio State Beach in Santa Barbara County, California, comes from a 2 foot (61 cm) underground pipe called Path 901 owned by the Plains All American Pipeline. Crude oil produced by offshore rigs is transported from land receiving plants to other pipelines that transport oil to the mainland for processing. Oil pipeline operators in Midland, Texas have turned off alarms that will notify them of leaks as they deal with separate problems with the pump. The 28-year-old pipeline was not equipped with an automatic breaker valve and was eventually turned off by the control operator when they were notified of leaks from parties visually spilling.
Hundreds of animals along the coast were covered with heavy crude oil and many died. State parks and beaches along the coastline are temporarily closed. Although much smaller than the explosion of oil rigs that resulted in the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill, this spill may have a greater long-term effect because of its potential impact on four state marine protected areas. Due to the unique characteristics of the area, this is one of the most studied marine environments in the United States.
Video Refugio oil spill
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This area is one of the earliest locations in California developed for offshore oil and gas production. Crude oil and natural gas produced by offshore rigs are processed at the receiving plant on land before being transported to distant refineries. The source of the spill is Line 901, a 10.6 mile (17.1 km) pipe owned by the Plains All American Pipeline. The 24-inch row buried (610 mm) was built in 1987 along the coast of Gaviota to serve crude oil produced by offshore drilling. The pipeline can carry 2,000,000 US gallons (48,000 barrels) per day and the contents are heated to as high as 120 ° F (49 ° C). The Santa Barbara pipeline is usually not heated but they are isolated to retain the heat of oil during transit. The viscous oil is also mixed with natural gas liquids to allow for easier flow through the pipes. Oil truck transport was removed in Santa Barbara County in the 1970s because the pipeline was considered a safer option.
Corrosion of the pipeline
Prior to the spill, a 28-year-old 281 Line path examination found a vast corrosion problem that resulted in thinning of the pipe wall. The pipeline does not have an automatic breaker valve that will be required on an intrastate pipeline because Line 901 is categorized as an interstate pipeline. Officials from the Plains All American Pipeline claim that installing a new valve will present another potential hazard. The line underwent a comprehensive internal examination in July 2012 and from then on the area where the broken pipe has been repaired at least three times. Line 903 is a much longer pipeline that transports oil from Line 901 to the mainland to collect facilities and refineries. LIne 903 is also found corroded though not serious.
Offshore oil production
Exxon Mobil has three offshore platforms, Hondo, Harmony and Heritage, which transport their oil to the ground tank at Santa Ynez Unit at Las Flores Canyon. They depend on Line 901 to transport oil from Las Flores to a pumping station in the coastal canyon near Gaviota. Crude oil, known as Las Flores Canyon OCS (Outer Continental Shelf), then flows to Line 903 because it is transported to the mainland 128 miles (206 km) to collect facilities at Kern County and to refineries throughout Southern California. Venoco's Platform Holly located at South Ellwood Offshore Oil Field also depends on Lines 901 and 903. The Holly platform is about 2-miles offshore (3.2 km) from Coal Oil Point where about 4,000 US gallons (95 barrels per day) comes from natural seepage. Line 903 is also used to move production from the Hidalgo, Harvest and Hermosa platforms of Freeport-McMoRan's Point Arguello Unit to the ConocoPhillips refinery in Santa Maria.
Gaviota coast
The narrow coastal porch where spills occur is mainly used for recreational and grazing livestock. Local land-use agencies have kept oil processing facilities down to a minimum along the slightly populated Gaviota coast where much of the land is stored in agricultural preservation under the Williamson Act and used for avocado and lemon orchards. The park and farm area on this narrow beach terrace lies between the rugged coastline and the Santa Ynez Mountains in the Los Padres National Forest. The nearest town is Goleta, about 11 miles down the beach (18 km). US 101 and the main coastline of parallel shorelines with coastline and Hondo and Harmony oil rigs can be easily seen offshore on the Santa Barbara Channel from the highway or railroad.
Gaviota Beach with a Mediterranean climate is considered unique to the marine biodiversity of marine life. The unusual species found here are the result of cold water from the north that meets with warm water from the south. The annual migration of about 19,000 Gray Whales through the Santa Barbara Channel is underway at the time of the oil spill. They may come as close as 100 feet from the coastline (30 m).
Maps Refugio oil spill
Oil spill
Detection and response
On May 19, 2015, pipeline operators in Midland, Texas remotely detected pressure anomalies and turned off Line 901 at 11:30 . The Santa Barbara Fire Department initially responded at about 11:40 Ã, for a strong odor report coming from the area. Firefighters found crude oil flowing from the drainage culvert passing under 101 US, and into the Pacific Ocean and reported the leak to the authorities. Local plumbing workers do not know about leaks until they are told by state park staff around noon that there is oil in the water. After struggling to find a leaking pipeline, the workers found Line 901 where they had leaked and poured into a storm culvert at about 1:30 pm (span> pm). The cleaning attempt does not start 16 to 18 hours.
The company official in Bakersfield responsible for notifying the National Response Center did not do so until 2:56 pm pm. The Center, run by US Coast Guard officers and marine engineering technicians, is the only federal contact point to report all releases of hazardous substances and oil spills. The oil spill triggered a mandatory federal notification requirement at the right time but company officials said they could not contact employees on site because employees were busy dealing with direct demands and disruptions of the situation.
The next day, the state park agency closed Refugio State Beach and El CapitÃÆ'¡n State Beach. Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency. Santa Barbara County also declared a state of emergency. The emergency management team of Santa Barbara finally recommends that the Supervisory Board keep the local emergency proclamation intact until May 2016. They anticipate that significant winter storms can lead to submerged oil and the situation can be revisited in the spring.
Ecologically sensitive areas
Oil quickly spreads along 11 kilometers of coastline from Arroyo Hondo Creek westward to El CapitÃÆ'¡n State Beach in the east. The slick reaches four marine protected areas that have significant significance for their ecological or cultural significance: Napoli, Kashtayit, Campus Point and Goleta Slough. Significant land and cultural artefacts for Chumash people are also found in this area.
The immediate concern of the environment is the potential use of chemical dispersants. To keep the large slices from drifting ashore, dispersants can be used to break the oil into small droplets that spread throughout the water column. There are significant concerns about the health effects of dispersants and their effects on aquatic life. The Coast Guard officers who supervised the cleaning showed that no chemicals were used but did not immediately regulate their use.
Spill and cleanup measures
Plains All American Pipeline states on May 20, 2015 that at the time of the pipe spills operate at a maximum capacity of 84,000 US gallons per hour (2,000 bbl/hr). They reported on August 14, 2015 that a total of 142,800 US gallons (3,400 barrels) of crude oil had leaked from the pipeline.
The preliminary report estimates that 20,000 US gallons (480 barrels) to 21,000 gallons of US (500 barrels) of oil spill into the sea through a culvert of highways adjacent to damaged pipes. The amount of leaking oil was then revised to more than 105,000 gallons (2,500 barrels). A Unified Command (ICS) was established consisting of local, state and federal agents. These include the United States Coast Guard, the US Environmental Protection Agency, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, including the Spill Prevention and Response Office, and the Santa Barbara Emergency Management Office together with the responsible Plains All American Pipeline. The Federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ordered pipeline operators to provide pipeline rupture for metallurgical testing to establish pipe conditions when it failed. All the oil in the pipes must be cleaned before the parts can be removed to determine whether corrosion, pressure or series of failures cause pipe rupture.
Scientists from various disciplines at the University of California, Santa Barbara and elsewhere began collaborating immediately after the spill. Based on lessons learned from previous spill research, and using improved computer models, they estimate spreading and spill distribution, including impacts on the Los Angeles coast. They use this information to provide guidance to the cleaning agency and to monitor the impact on the ecosystem.
Around 3,000 feet (910 m) of a floating containment boom has been deployed to hold oil the next day. Boats and helicopters identify slippery patches at sea so the cleaning vessels can dry the oil. More than a dozen ships that bind and filter oil from water work in the days immediately after the spill. Three days after the spill over 650 workers and 17 boats cleared the shoreline, collected a mixture of oily water from the sea, and transported over 5,000 cubic meters (3,800 m 3 ) oil-soil contamination, sand and vegetation from beach cliffs. A month after the spill, efforts continue to clear the most heavily damaged 8 miles (13 km) of the coastline. Sandstone cliffs faced with large rocks doused by oil coming out of the sewers are difficult to clean. While sandy beaches further south are flooded with tar balls, beaches and rocky beaches in the south the spill has been wet with fresh crude oil that has not been in the sea long enough to be turned into a tar ball by wind and waves.
tar
A few days after the spill, tar balls began to be stranded on the beach at the beach in nearby Summerland and then further down the coast in the Ventura area. Although the source of this tar can not be immediately confirmed, the pipeline company sends the workers to clean it up. The crew cleared the coin-sized oil clumps along the coastline of Rincon like Faria, the beaches of Ventura City including the City Beach of San Buenaventura, and the vast beach at Plain Oxnard.
Many officials and scientists say initially the appearance of a tar ball may be a coincidence that is not related to the spill. Coal Oil Point is very close and is well known for offshore oil seepage at around 4,000 US gallons (95 barrels) per day. The tar ball continues to appear on further beaches in Los Angeles County including Malibu and the South Bay beaches in Santa Monica Bay. When tested, the tar balls found in South Bay in Manhattan Beach match the chemical sign of spilled oil. The cleaning clerk responded further south to the beach in Orange County.
A month after the spill, 93% of the approximately 100 miles (160 km) of beach were damaged after the spill was cleared. The remaining 8 miles (13 km) is an area at the spill location near Refugio State Beach and the rest of the southern coast of Refugio spill.
Aftermath
Environmental effects
The spill was much smaller than the nearby Santa Barbara 1969 oil spill nearby on January 28, 1969 where an oil spill spilled about 3.4 to 4.2 million US gallons (81,000 to 100,000 bbl) of crude oil for ten days. period.
Thick crude oil damages the mantle, the skin, the beak, and the hundreds of animals. The workers eventually collected 202 dead birds and 99 dead mammals which included at least 46 sea lions and 12 dolphins. Full impact will never be known because animals can travel a distance before giving in to their wounds. Sixty-five live birds and sixty-three living mammals were saved.
Of the 69 animals freed after being cleaned and treated to health, 10 were Brown adult pelicans released at Goleta Beach after spending three weeks in San Pedro with a team of scientists from the Oiled Oversight Management Network run by UC Davis. School of Veterinary Medicine. In September 2015, SeaWorld San Diego released the last three sea lions affected by the oil spill at Border Field State Park. Scientists will monitor the movement of some sea lions and at least five pelicans with satellite transmitters.
Spill cleaning occurs during the nesting season for snowy plovers so special precautions are needed when clearing the tar balls. Birds are often found on beaches along the coast of the Oxnard plains. Their nests are hard to see in the open sands and birds are easily scared by human activity leaving the eggs for fast-moving predators like seagulls. Endangered species are another endangered species of birds of concern during the purge.
Marine researchers noted that mammals and birds get the most attention but small creatures at the base of the seafood chain are also harmed by oil. Life on the seabed and near shore like shells, barnacles, and other shellfish can not move out of the way. When exposed to oil, these organisms suffer 90% more mortality and population recovery can last for decades.
Researchers from the University of California, Santa Barbara began collecting samples within hours of spills to monitor their impact on the marine environment. Researchers and volunteers returned to the area many times to collect additional samples. Since students and researchers have previously used this area for research purposes, basic data is available. David Valentine, a professor at the University's Department of Earth Sciences, said, "The heavy oil refinery in Refugio provides a unique opportunity to discover new metabolic, genomic and ecological feedback among marine microbial communities, heavy oils and ecosystem responses.We have the opportunity to study ecosystem changes and microbial reactions from an early stage to a full year It is rare for scientists to gain zero-day access to such events. "
Economic impact
Plains All American Pipeline estimates that the cleanup has cost $ 96 million during a joint surveillance session of the State Assembly's Natural Resource Committee and the Senate Select Committee on June 26, 2015. The overall expenditure associated with the spill estimated $ 257 million in earnings reports for Plains All American Pipeline is issued around the same time. This includes emergency response and cleanup efforts along with expected legal claims and settlement potential. The CEO stated in the report that all but $ 65 million will be covered by insurance and that the figure excludes lost revenues from closed pipelines.
The economic consequences for the county are harder to quantify. The financial impacts in the area are estimated by the Director of California Economic Forecast of $ 74 million if Line 901 remains inactive for three years due to dependence of the oil and gas industry in the region to move products through this path. Employee income, property taxes, and federal royalties are reduced while the channel is not working. The impact on tourism is not as bad as predicted and the thousands of workers involved in cleaning seem to have benefited some hotels.
Despite its small population, recreation brings outside fans to Gaviota Beach. The spill affected visitors both public and private facilities in the area. The state was shut down using El CapitÃÆ'¡n State Beach for a month, which was finally reopened on June 26 for camping and daylight. Refugio State Beach is more severely damaged and not reopened until July 17, 2015. These two popular parks were quickly filled with summer visitors when they reopened. Eric Hjelstrom, California state inspector State Parks said, "We booked it full on the day we opened, half the people did not know we were closed, which is good evidence of how clean the park is."
Responding to the spill, 138 square miles (360 km 2 ) of the fishery was closed. The order was lifted after six weeks when the Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment determined that the region's seafood was safe to eat and caused "no significant health threat." The closure affects commercial fishermen and fishing charters. Local commercial fishermen reported that it was difficult to sell fish caught outside the enclosed area due to the impression that all the seafood in the area was polluted from the oil spill. There are also long-term concerns that oil may have removed key food sources for some marine life in the area. The flagship product of the Santa Barbara area is red sea hedgehogs and red rock crabs with an average of $ 11 million in sales revenue annually
The estimated $ 74 million financial impact for three years to the county includes about $ 37 million in property taxes lost, $ 32 million in reduced employee income and $ 5 million in reduced federal royalties. This is the result of the oil and gas industry in the region that is heavily dependent on Lines 901 and 903. Prior to the spill, Exxon, which was the region's largest oil operator at the time, was in pace to generate approximately $ 636 million in revenue at Santa Barbara County during 2015 but on November 5, 2015 only earned about $ 216.6 million. The offshore offshore oil platforms are forced to close when the ground storage tank is filled. In December 2015, no schedule is set to restart the rig. Truck transportation to resume production from offshore platforms is not permitted by local agents. Exceptions have been scrutinized by local officials such as allowing Venoco in August 2015 to transport crude oil already on the ground with trucks for a limited period of time. Oil has been evacuated from tanks and pipelines to enable the maintenance of the Ellwood onshore facility at Goleta that serves the Holly Platform.
Litigation
Nearly a year after the spill, Grand Jury Santa Barbara County dropped 46 criminal charges against the Plains. The Santa Barbara County District Attorney also announced the number of minor offenses against one of the company's employees. California Attorney General Kamala Harris, who has also opened a criminal investigation after spill, said the prosecution would send a message to the Plains and to the oil and gas industry in California.
The profound economic impact on local fishermen, who could not catch fish during fishery closure, led to the filing of several lawsuits. This coat, along with that of the homeowner who claims a loss in property value, is consolidated into a class action lawsuit against Plains. An additional class-action lawsuit filed by shareholders claiming the Plain provides "false and misleading statements" regarding pipe maintenance and monitoring.
Plains All American Pipeline was ordered in March 2016 to stop misleading claimants seeking temporary damage. The US District Court issued an order stating that Plains misleads "victims inadvertently waive their right to full restoration" through a class action lawsuit in which they can obtain further compensation.
The city of Santa Barbara filed suit in May 2016 seeking a $ 2.1 million compensation from Plains. Media coverage of the spill has created a perception that the oil spill in the city of Santa Barbara rather than 20 miles (32 km) in Santa Barbara County according to city officials. It underestimates visitors during the peak tourist season, losing millions of city dollars in tax revenues.
The Federal Water Supply and Safety Hazard Administration is required to provide all records of the 901 Line internal checks conducted in 2012 and details of all other inspections since 2013 such as maintenance data, monitoring information, incident reports and log improvements. The Santa Barbara Environmental Defense Center (EDC), which has requested the release of the record along with Santa Barbara Channelkeepers, filed a lawsuit against the agency in December 2015 for more than six months and they have not received any of the requested Documents.
Legislation
Three bills were signed into law in response to the spill. Under the new law, California Fire Marshall will be required to review the conditions of the oil pipeline every year while federal regulations only mandate review every five years. Other new laws provide faster and more effective oil spill response times. Finally, the new law will force intrastate pipelines to use the most famous technology such as automatic breaker valves.
Rule
The Hazardous Materials Safety Administration of Pipes (PHMSA) is responsible for developing and enforcing regulations for the transport of pipeline operations that have been made in 2004 at the US Department of Transportation. In the months after the spill, they found that the in-line inspection equipment used by Plains in Line 901 and Line 903 had miscalculated the degree of corrosion. The Company also holds in-line inspection data so that "it can improve data interpretation," according to a corrective order issued by PHMSA. In October, PHMSA proposed new rules to help prevent the difference in the examination.
Substitution
On August 15, 2017, Plains submitted an application to the Santa Barbara County Energy and Mineral Planning and Development Division for the replacement of Lines 901 and 903. The replacement pipe will restore crude oil pipe transportation services in Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Kern States as well. it has been determined that the old pipeline can not be used.
See also
- 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill
- California Coastal Commission
- The History of Santa Barbara, California
- List of oil spills
- Offshore oil and gas in California
References
External links
- Broke The Santa Barbara Oil Pipeline Spill 2015 film website
- Response Refugio Joint Information Center
- Department of Fish and Wildlife California
- Refugio Natural Resource Damage and Recovery Assessment
- Incident Refugio Cal Spill Watch
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration
- Refugio Beach Oil Spill Assessment, Remediation and Damage Recovery Program
- Channel Safety Administration and Dangerous Materials
- Initial Facts Report, (PDF) Plains Pipeline, L.P., Failure on Line 901; February 2016
- Failure Investigation Report, (PDF) Plains Pipeline, L.P., Line 901, Crude Oil Release, May 19, 2015, Santa Barbara County, California; May 2016
Source of the article : Wikipedia
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