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Thursday, February 1, 2007
OIL SPILL REPORTED NEAR CONDOR
SANCTUARY IN LOS PADRES FOREST
Oil Company
Dumps More Than 2,100 Gallons of Industrial Wastewater and
200 Gallons of Crude Oil into Tar Creek, Upstream of Sespe Wild
& Scenic River
Ventura County, Calif. -- Earlier this week, ForestWatch received several
reports of a massive oil spill in the Los Padres National
Forest, reports that were later confirmed by a BLM spokesperson
and several newspaper accounts of the incident. ForestWatch
staff visited the spill area the following day to view the
damage firsthand.
The spill
occurred on Monday or Tuesday, and by Thursday had covered up to
three miles of Tar Creek in Ventura County, leaving globs of oil
along its banks and blackening its waters. According to a report
filed with the Office of Emergency Services, the spill involved more than 3,300 gallons of industrial
wastewater and more than 200 gallons of crude oil. Late
Thursday, officials doubled their estimate, saying that more
than 400 gallons of crude had spilled. And on Friday, officials
released final spill tallies, with more than 200 gallons of oil
and 2,100 gallons of wastewater spilled.
BEFORE & AFTER
AFTER: More than 20 workers are on
site to clean up the oil slick from Tar Creek.
BEFORE: A pristine Tar
Creek, taken last year just a few steps from the above photo.
The OES report
identified the cause of the spill as "possible internal
corrosion" that caused the pipe to burst. Authorities also say
that recent cold weather caused expansion and contraction of the
pipe. The pipe connects several oil wells to a large storage
tank.
Before crews could contain the spill, it flowed into Tar Creek
approximately 5 miles upstream of the confluence with Sespe
Creek. About 20-30 workers are on site, installing several
earthen berms and using booms, suction trucks, and absorbent
pads to prevent the slick from moving further downstream.
Despite their diligent efforts, the oil was approaching within
1.5 miles of the ecologically sensitive Sespe Creek by the end
of the day Thursday, according to a spokesman for the Department
of Fish & Game.
Officials are
taking precautions in the event that the slick reaches the Sespe,
but remain confident that the spill will not travel much
further. Officials reported that four endangered California
condors inhabit the area. Sespe Creek is a federally-protected
Wild and Scenic River that provides critical habitat for
endangered steelhead. Tar Creek forms the southern boundary of a
condor sanctuary, and the slick had already covered a
significant portion of this stretch.
Thus far, no
endangered plants or animals have been coated with oil, but it
may be weeks before officials are able to fully assess the
impacts of the spill on wildlife.
An oil well near the
site of yesterday's oil spill.
The Sespe Condor Sanctuary is in the background.
The spill occurred on national forest land in
the Sespe Oil Field. With approximately 220 wells, it's the
largest oil field in the Los Padres National Forest. The lands
are leased by Vintage Production California, a recently acquired
subsidiary of Occidental Petroleum. Occidental is an
international petroleum exploration and development company
headquartered in Los Angeles, with a revenue of more than $11
billion in 2004.
The spill
occurred in an area zoned for future oil drilling expansion. In 2005, the
federal government approved a plan to expand oil drilling across
52,075 acres of national forest in Santa Barbara and Ventura
counties. The spill occurred near one of the new
drilling expansion areas.
Streambanks along Tar Creek are
coated in oil.
The incident
drew rebukes from ForestWatch and members of Congress including
Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara). "This spill confirms what I have
been saying for years, drilling for oil is a dirty business,
said Rep. Capps. "While any report of an oil spill is troubling,
I am particularly concerned that this spill could reach the
Sespe Condor Sanctuary and pose a significant threat to the
endangered California condor."
"This is
further proof that oil drilling expansion is incompatible with
the protection of our local backcountry," said Jeff Kuyper,
executive director of ForestWatch. "If we allow even more oil
drilling, spills like this one will become even more frequent."
Officials estimated that currently there is at least one spill
per year in the Sespe Oil Field.
ForestWatch has
notified several government agencies of our intent to file a
lawsuit to protect the forest from oil drilling expansion and
additional oil spills, with assistance from Defenders of
Wildlife and the Center for Biological Diversity.
This is not the
first time that Vintage Petroleum has caused an oil spill in the
area. According to the Office of Emergency Services, in November
2005, the company spilled more than 200 gallons of crude oil in
the adjacent Hopper Mountain National Wildlife Refuge. Earlier
that same year, Vintage dumped more than 600 gallons of crude
oil and wastewater into Maple Creek.
Officials estimate that cleanup could take another week. |
