A beach in California will reopen next week, two months after an oil pipeline spill lined it with thick tar.
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Refugio State Beach was cleared by California State Parks to reopen next Friday, July 17, 2015 at noon.
The spill dumped as much as 2,400 barrels (101,000 gallons or 382,000 liters) of crude onto a pristine stretch of the Santa Barbara coastline and into the Pacific, leaving slicks that stretched over nine miles (14 km) along the coast and closing the two state beaches. However, areas south of the beach that are not state park areas remain closed as cleanup continues there, authorities said. “It is really neat to see light at the end of the tunnel”.
As crews continue to brush and scrape oil off covered rocks and surfaces, officials ask the public to stay clear of closed areas north of Refugio State Beach, along with the closed pocket beaches between Refugio and neighboring El Capitan State Beach, which reopened June 26.
There is still clean-up work left to do along the shoreline before the public can use the beach.
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration is investigating the cause of the spill, and state prosecutors have been considering potential charges against Plains.
Almost 250 petroleum-stained sea birds have been recovered dead and alive since the spill, along with over 260 marine mammals suspected of being spill casualties, according to a running tally kept by wildlife officials.
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Preliminary findings released by the federal agency suggest that the break occurred along a heavily corroded section of pipe. By then, the federal response led by the Coast Guard was underway.
