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‘Major’ Oil Spill Off California Coast Threatens Wetlands and Wildlife
A pipeline failure sent at least 126,000 gallons of oil into the Pacific off the coast of Orange County, creating a 13-square-mile slick. Dead fish and birds washed ashore in some areas.

By Neil Vigdor and Melina Delkic
Published Oct. 3, 2021
Updated Oct. 4, 2021, 12:21 a.m. ET

A pipeline failure off the coast of Orange County, Calif., on Saturday caused at least 126,000 gallons of oil to spill into the Pacific Ocean, creating a 13-square-mile slick that continued to grow on Sunday, officials said.

Dead fish and birds washed ashore in some places as cleanup crews raced to try to contain the spill, which created a slick that extended from Huntington Beach to Newport Beach.

It was not immediately clear what caused the leak, which officials said occurred three miles off the coast of Newport Beach and involved a failure in a 17.5-mile pipeline connected to an offshore oil platform called Elly that is operated by Beta Offshore.

The U.S. Coast Guard said in a statement Sunday night that crews had “recovered” about 3,150 gallons of oil. Fourteen boats were involved in the cleanup effort on Sunday, and crews had deployed 5,360 feet of boom, a floating barrier that helps contain oil.

The spill prompted officials to close the beaches in Huntington Beach, where the third day of the annual Pacific Airshow was canceled on Sunday, a day after an estimated 1.5 million people had gathered on the oceanfront to watch the Blue Angels and Thunderbirds.



https://www.nytimes.com/2021/10/03/us/p ... ocean.html

OPEKA, Kan. (AP) — An oil spill in a creek in northeastern Kansas shut down a major pipeline that carries oil from Canada to the Texas Gulf Coast, briefly causing oil prices to rise Thursday.

Canada-based TC Energy said it shut down its Keystone system Wednesday night following a drop in pipeline pressure. It said oil spilled into a creek in Washington County, Kansas, about 150 miles (240 kilometers) northwest of Kansas City.

The company on Thursday estimated the spill’s size at about 14,000 barrels and said the affected pipeline segment had been “isolated” and the oil contained at the site with booms, or barriers. It did not say how the spill occurred.

“People are sometimes not aware of of the havoc that these things can wreak until the disaster happens,” said Zack Pistora, who lobbies the Kansas Legislature for the Sierra Club’s state chapter.

Concerns that spills could pollute waterways spurred opposition to plans by TC Energy to build another crude oil pipeline in the Keystone system, the 1,200-mile (1,900-kilometer) Keystone XL, which would have cut across Montana, South Dakota and Nebraska. Critics also argued that using crude from western Canada’s oil sands would worsen climate change, and President Joe Biden’s cancelation of a U.S. permit for the project led the company to pull the plug last year.

R A W S A L E R T S @rawsalerts wrote: #BREAKING: Hazmat crews are on the scene after oil is shooting out from the ground

#Edmond | #Oklahoma

Multiple emergency crews, including hazmat officials, are currently on the scene in Edmond, Oklahoma, after a construction vehicle struck a 16-inch oil pipe causing oil to shoot from the ground. A significant amount of oil is currently running off as some made it into a nearby pond crews are working to prevent it from spreading further. No evacuation orders have been issued at this time.