An estimated 21,000 gallons of oil leaked off the California coast

(Image credit: Twitter.com/ABC)

published 20 May 2015

A ruptured pipeline is estimated to have leaked 21,000 gallons of oil into the ocean off California's Santa Barbara County coast on Tuesday.

U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Andrea Anderson said that by 3:45 p.m., the leak had left a four-mile long sheen of oil along Refugio State Beach in Goleta, the Los Angeles Times reports. The leak was first spotted at noon, and it was stopped by coast guard crews by 3 p.m. The pipeline is operated by Plains All America Pipeline, L.P., and runs along the coast near Highway 101. Investigators are on the scene trying to determine what caused the leak and to coordinate clean up efforts.

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Catherine Garcia has worked as a senior writer at The Week since 2014. Her writing and reporting have appeared in Entertainment Weekly, The New York Times, Wirecutter, NBC News and "The Book of Jezebel," among others. She's a graduate of the University of Redlands and the Columbia University Graduate School of Journalism.