"litigating Oil Spills: The Expertise Of Maritime Law Attorneys In Environmental Disasters"

 "litigating Oil Spills: The Expertise Of Maritime Law Attorneys In Environmental Disasters" - Crew members replace oil-covered booms with new ones along the Santa Ana River, where the Talbert Marsh, a wetland, is threatened by a massive oil spill near Huntington Beach on October 5, 2021. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for

The last major oil spill off Huntington Beach was nearly 32 years ago — in almost the same spot. California has 23 offshore oil platforms in federal waters and eight platforms and islands in state waters.

"litigating Oil Spills: The Expertise Of Maritime Law Attorneys In Environmental Disasters"

The massive oil spill off Huntington Beach could become the kind of environmental disaster played out along California's beloved coast, which coalesces opposition to offshore oil production.

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It can be a messy industry, and previous oil spills have sparked scandal and driven policy and reforms. California, in its protest against leasing in federal waters, has over the decades enacted laws to make the offshore oil more difficult and expensive to transport to shore, and also imposed harsher penalties for spills.

Yet California remains, at its core, an oil state—ranking seventh in the nation for production. Huntington Beach is a prime example of California's complicated relationship with oil. Dubbing itself Surfing City USA, it has built an economy entirely dependent on clean beaches and water. But offshore oil platforms are visible from the city's famous beach, and Huntington Beach High School's sports teams are called the Oilers.

Huntington Beach is especially vulnerable to spills because of its cluster of six large oil platforms offshore. In all, California has 19 offshore oil leases in state waters, including eight oil platforms and islands, and 23 facilities in federal waters.

Federal officials report a three-hour delay in shutting down the pipeline after the first alarm sounded.

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The last major spill off Huntington Beach was nearly 32 years ago — in almost the same spot. The spill occurred when an oil tanker, the American Trader, ran on its anchor Nearstar, spilling about 400,000 gallons of British crude oil into the ocean. Now it happened again.

The spill began about five miles off the coast of Huntington Beach, where Amplifi Energy, one of the largest oil producers in Southern California, owns three platforms in an oil field known as Beta Field.

The oil leaked from the company's San Pedro pipeline, which stretches 17 miles and connects one of the offshore platforms, known as Ali, to a pumping station in the Port of Long Beach.

An underwater image captured by a remotely operated vehicle shows a 13-inch split in the pipeline. Image by Defense Visual Information Center

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Built in 1980, the rig is nine miles offshore in waters that are 265 feet deep. It processes crude oil collected from two other nearby platforms at the Beta Field. The two platforms produce up to 8,000 barrels of crude — 336,000 gallons — per day, according to Amplify Energy Co.

Almost a mile-long section of the pipeline on the ocean floor was displaced or dragged more than 100 feet laterally, perhaps by a ship's anchor.

Information about the cause and the exact timing of the spill is trickling out. Federal regulators now say Amplify Energy personnel received an alarm indicating low pressure on the pipeline at 2:30 a.m. The Coast Guard, in charge of emergency response, was first notified at 9:10 a.m. Saturday. On Sunday, oil and petroleum-coated birds began to appear on the shore of Huntington Beach, which local officials closed to the public.

As much as 131,000 gallons and a minimum of about 24,696 gallons of crude oil spilled from the pipeline, according to Coast Guard estimates.

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Martyn Willsher, president and CEO of Amplify Energy, said a ship's anchor striking the pipeline was "one of the distinct possibilities" for the cause of the spill.

The Coast Guard said Tuesday that nearly a mile-long section of the 16-inch pipeline, which is on the ocean floor, was displaced or dragged more than 100 feet laterally, perhaps by a ship's anchor days or weeks before the oil spill. Started spilling.

The pipeline has a 13-inch split along its length, as shown in underwater footage taken by a remotely operated vehicle on Monday. The area is a busy corridor for ships serving the nearby ports of Long Beach and Los Angeles, but they are supposed to drop anchor in only specific spots to avoid pipelines.

Beta Operating was fined by federal regulators in 2013 and 2014 for violations that led to the injury of workers. The company also issued 125 violations found by federal inspectors.

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The Ellie platform is located in federal waters, which are defined as more than three miles offshore, and the leases are managed by the Department of the Interior. The platform, which is an offshore processing plant

Amplify Energy Corp. Reorganized in 2018 after bankruptcy and has tried to repair and upgrade its infrastructure, which can be easily corroded in an ocean environment. Many of the offshore field's pipelines are decades old.

On Sunday, an estimated 13 square miles of ocean surface were slick with oil. And the oil still moves south with the current, and today reaches as far south as Dana Point. Sticky balls and patties of oil are littering popular local beaches, mostly in Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, officials said.

"There's an area from Huntington Beach down to just south of Dana Point that extends a couple of miles offshore and in that there are ribbons or pools of oil," said Rebecca Orr, U.S. it. Coast Guard Captain of the Port.

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A crew member covered in crude oil works to replace an oil-soaked boom with a new one along the Santa Ana River in Huntington Beach on Oct. 5, 2021. Photo by Pablo Unzueta for

Birds are at high risk, as well as marine mammals and bottom-dwelling creatures. Crude oil can break down the natural waterproofing of the birds' feathers and damage their internal organs. Twenty-four birds covered in oil have been found since Thursday, including five feathered snowy plovers. Five of the birds died; One brown pelican was euthanized on site after sustaining wing injuries.

California's Department of Fish and Wildlife has deployed booms to try to stem the flow of oil into vulnerable stretches of coast, including one of Southern California's biggest ecological treasures, the Bolsa Chica wetlands, according to Christian Corbo, a lieutenant with the department. Pushed by currents, the slick will likely continue to move south, away from Bolsa Chica and Long Beach.

Oil has already seeped into the smaller Talbert Marsh, which is south of Bolsa Chica and managed by the Huntington Beach Wetlands Conservancy, said Executive Director John Villa. So far, no birds or fish have died in the marsh, he said, although two birds were coated in oil, and clams, oysters and crabs living among the oil-covered rocks could be at risk.

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On Sunday, the California Department of Fish closed fisheries within six miles of shore from Sunset Beach to Dana Point. The environmental health experts in California warn that fishing in the area of ​​the spill and potentially eating squid and shellfish could threaten public health.

CDFW has declared a fishery closure for coastal areas impacted by the oil spill. More details and a map can be found here: https://t.co/wmZ9HZKUW6 — CDFW Spill Prevention and Response (@CalSpillWatch) October 4, 2021

The Coast Guard launched a fleet of boats using booms to isolate the oil and then collect it using skimmers. All told, as of Sunday, more than 5,300 feet of boom have been deployed and 3,150 gallons of oil have been recovered from the water.

Officials at a press briefing Monday said little about efforts along the shorelines, where cleaning up oil can take a number of different strategies — including industrial-sized vacuum trucks, absorbent materials to sponge up the oil, soap-like cleaners to disperse the grease and shovels. It up and carting it away.

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Sensitive environments like coastal wetlands can be especially difficult to clean, said David Valentine, a professor of earth science and biology at the University of California, Santa Barbara.

"It's often as much or more damaging to send a whole bunch of people to walk over the habitat," Valentine said. "So you're in a tough spot, because the cleanup can be almost as bad as the spill."

State and federal officials have launched investigations into the cause and timing of the spill. Under many state and federal laws, companies can be fined and held responsible for cleanup costs and damages to natural resources as well as the local economy.

"This is a criminal case," said Eric Laughlin, a public information officer with the California Department of Fish and Wildlife. "There is a federal and a state investigation separate from this response."

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"Whatever needs to be done, we'll take care of it," Wilshere said at a press briefing today.

Authorities will want to review Amplify Energy's operations records, the status of their equipment and whether workers

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