County, state, and federal emergency response teams began investigating a large oil sheen off the coast of Huntington Beach, Calif. Friday morning. It was first reported to the U.S. Coast Guard around 7 p.m. Thursday evening and a plan to investigate at first light was put into action by the Orange County Sheriff’s Department.
Investigators from the California Governor’s Office Emergency Services eventually filed a hazardous materials spill report citing an offshore platform belonging to Beta Offshore, which operates three oil platforms off the coast of Long Beach, according to the U.S. Department of the Interior. U.S. Coast Guard Petty Officer Richard Brahm announced that the sheen didn’t appear to be growing in size and no platforms off the coast of Orange County had reported spills or leaks, so authorities are assuming this was a one-time discharge.
“We are going all out to find out what this is because we don’t know what this is,” Brahm said. “As far as we can tell, it’s not a spill.”
In 2021, an offshore drilling pipeline operated by Amplify Energy ruptured and released an estimated 24,696 gallons of crude oil off Huntington Beach. The spill created a slick that extended 13 square miles with impacts to wildlife and coastal environments. It also caused beach closures throughout much of Southern California.
Last year, Assembly Bill 631 (AB 631) was signed into law, granting the state of California power to enforce harsher civil penalties against oil well owners and operators when their operations imperil communities.
“This measure ensures California has 21st-century enforcement tools to protect communities from oil operators that violate the law, endanger public health, and threaten the environment,” said Assemblymember Gregg Hart of Santa Barbara, who authored the law. “AB 631 will strengthen compliance and deter the pattern of treating violations as the cost of doing business.”
