Emergency officials and Exxon Mobil were responding Tuesday afternoon to a ruptured pipeline that was leaking crude oil into the ocean off the Santa Barbara County coast, authorities said. The Santa Barbara County office of emergency management [8] has identified the responsible party as Plains All American Pipeline.
[9]
As The LA Times reports, [10]by 3:45 p.m., the leak had left a 21,000 barrel four-mile-long sheen of oil extending about 50 yards into the waters along Refugio State Beach in Goleta, said U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrea Anderson.
First trains, now pipelines...
The ruptured pipeline -- which runs along the coast near Highway 101 -- was first reported to county fire officials about noon. Coast Guard crews arrived and stopped the leak, Anderson said.
It's unclear how much oil streamed into the ocean, and officials could not confirm what type of oil had been flowing through the pipeline.
As Sputnik reports, [11]
According to one of the first responders, the oil was leaking at a rapid rate of “a couple of hundred BMP,” or barrels per minute. Speaking to the Santa Barbara Independent after arriving at the scene, County Fire spokesperson David Zenobi said the leak, which had originated from a broken pipeline on land, had stopped.
* * *
* * *
As Santa Barbara County Office of Emergency Management, [8]
The responsible party for the ruptured pipeline near Refugio Beach has been identified as Plains All-American Pipeline. A Incident Command Post has been established and the CG will oversee the clean-up of the oil by the responsible party.
* * *
Pipeline leak sending oil into ocean at Refugio State Beach in #SantaBarbara [12].
We're live. #OilSpill [13] #environment [14] pic.twitter.com/rudJIvN3Oh [15]
— Tena Ezzeddine (@TenaNBCLA) May 19, 2015 [16]
Pipeline rupture leaks oil onto Santa Barbara County beaches
http://t.co/tY2MN5MBev [17]
Pic: Refugio State Beach, today pic.twitter.com/N3hEPTeLOK [18]
— Shelagh Becerra (@ShelaghBecerra) May 19, 2015 [19]
Breaking: #Oil [20] pipeline spill fouls #SantaBarbara [12] beaches. Slick 4 miles long. http://t.co/mAv5es3zFh [21] pic.twitter.com/X7FaUm2L4n [22]
— Watershed Watch (@WatershedWatch_) May 19, 2015 [23]
#breaking [24] Oil Spill north of Goleta, Refugio State Beach, pipeline burst pic.twitter.com/43y72uKO6N [25]
— Tara Wallis (@tarawallis) May 19, 2015 [26]
Unclear if this is source of pipeline break in SB County- but many officials on ground checking out this spot pic.twitter.com/rneYNFMAH7 [27]
— Tara Wallis (@tarawallis) May 19, 2015 [28]
NBC Los Angeles reports, the oil pipeline leaked 21,000 gallons [29]
