The oil pipeline that ruptured in Santa Barbara County, California, on Tuesday may have spilled as much as 105,000 gallons of crude, with tens of thousands entering the ocean, officials with Plains All American Pipeline said.
The company came up with the estimate by looking at the 24-inch-wide underground line's elevation and flow rate, which averages roughly 50,400 gallons an hour, the Los Angeles Times reports, and they believes 21,000 gallons made it into the water off of Refugio State Beach after the oil seeped through the ground to a culvert. The pipe will be excavated, and investigators won't know what caused the rupture until that takes place.
The U.S. Coast Guard says the oil slicks are stretching across nine miles of coastline, and local residents have spotted wildlife, including pelicans and lobsters, covered in oil. Plains All American district manager Darren Palmer said during a news conference that the company is "sorry this accident happened, and we're sorry for the inconvenience to the community," but that's not enough for Santa Barbara County Supervisor Doreen Farr. "This stretch of the California coast is unique to the world," she said. "This is more than an inconvenience. This is a disaster."
The Week
Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.
Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.
-
Nick Fuentes’ Groyper antisemitism is splitting the rightTalking Points Interview with Tucker Carlson draws conservative backlash
-
Jamaicans reeling from Hurricane MelissaSpeed Read The Category 5 storm caused destruction across the country
-
Nigeria confused by Trump invasion threatSpeed Read Trump has claimed the country is persecuting Christians
-
Nobody seems surprised Wagner's Prigozhin died under suspicious circumstancesSpeed Read
-
Western mountain climbers allegedly left Pakistani porter to die on K2Speed Read
-
'Circular saw blades' divide controversial Rio Grande buoys installed by Texas governorSpeed Read
-
Los Angeles city workers stage 1-day walkout over labor conditionsSpeed Read
-
Mega Millions jackpot climbs to an estimated $1.55 billionSpeed Read
-
Bangladesh dealing with worst dengue fever outbreak on recordSpeed Read
-
Glacial outburst flooding in Juneau destroys homesSpeed Read
-
Scotland seeking 'monster hunters' to search for fabled Loch Ness creatureSpeed Read
