Officials Notified About California Oil Spill Even Before the Public - Report Says
A report from California's Office of Spill Prevention revealed on Monday that the state officials were notified about the oil spill hours before the incident was publicized on Saturday morning.
According to the records retrieved by the Los Angeles Times, the said office was first notified about an "observed sheen" in the waters located several miles off Huntington Beach, on Friday at around 10:22 p.m. However, the report from the office noted that the source and the volume of the oil spill "were still unknown."
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The said report was based on the information from the National Response Center, which should be contacted regarding oil and chemical discharges in the environment.
It can be recalled that Amplify Energy reported to the Office of Emergency Services on Saturday, around 8:55 a.m., about the leak on their aging pipeline, and claimed that the first leak occurred around 2:30 a.m. the same day.
However, the report showed that the first time the California oil spill was reported on Friday, the oil was already two nautical miles long and 100 meters wide, USA Today reported.
To date, the oil spill was reported to be at least 126,000 gallons and is destroying wildlife along the waters of Huntington Beach to Laguna Beach.
On Saturday, it was "believed that leaking 16" pipeline was shut down. The said pipeline was reported to stretch from the shore to Platform Elly located in the Pacific Ocean.
Pipeline Owner Says They Do Not Know About California Oil Spill Until Saturday
As the reports of the California oil spill being reported earlier surfaced, Amplify Energy, the owner of the pipeline that caused the incident, claimed on Monday that they did not know about the incident until Saturday.
Amplify Energy's Chief Executive, Martin Willsher, also pointed out that they were not aware of the reports from the resident of Orange County who smelled the fuel on Friday.
California Senator Tom Umberg on Monday said that they need to find the truth about when the oil spill was reported, and to whom the incident was reported. Umberg went on to say that they also need to find out why the government agencies who knew about the oil spill on Friday night failed to mention the incident to those who have a responsibility to tell the news to the public.
The U.S. Coast Guard is now investigating whether Amplify Energy is muddled in monitoring their oil pressure that might have caused the delay in shutting down the flow of thousands of gallons of oil.
Ship's Anchor Might Have Caused California Oil Spill: Coast Guard
As the investigation on the cause of the California oil spill continues, coast guard officials claim that there is a possibility of an anchor being the cause of the incident.
"We're looking into if it could have been an anchor from a ship," Coast Guard Lt. Cmdr. Jeannie Shaye said on Monday, noting that the possibility of the anchor being the cause was still in the "assessment phase."
According to reports, cargo ships at the twin ports of Los Angeles and Long Beach usually pass through the area of the oil spill. In recent months, several vessels were regularly anchored in the area while waiting to enter the said ports and unload their ships.
Meanwhile, Willsher said that company divers inspected the area of the suspected leak on Saturday. Willsher went on to express his hopes that there would be clearer data on what caused the California oil spill.
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This article is owned by Latin Post
Written By: Joshua Summers
WATCH: California Crews Race to Contain Massive Oil Spill - From ABC News
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