Oil Sheen Discovered off the Coast of Huntington Beach

Coast Guard Responds to Oil Sheen Incident

Oil Product Recovered from the Waters

Roughly 85 gallons of oil product were recovered from the waters off the coast of Huntington Beach in Southern California on Friday, the day after an oil sheen was discovered there, the US Coast Guard said.

Size and Location of the Sheen

The sheen was spotted Thursday evening about a half mile wide and approximately two and a half miles long, the Coast Guard said in a news release. The sheen is about one and a half miles off the Huntington Beach coast, the Coast Guard said.

Operations Suspended Due to Sea State

About 85% of the total oil sheen was removed “before the deteriorating sea state caused operations to pause for the evening,” the Coast Guard said in an update Friday night. On Saturday, a helicopter will fly over the area to assess if a sheen is still present, according to the Coast Guard.

Efforts to Protect the Environment and Wildlife

“The oil spill off the coast in HB is contained, protections in place to protect our wetlands & marshes, & investigation & testing are still ongoing,” said Orange County Supervisor Katrina Foley on Friday. “Clean up underway.”

In the search for oiled wildlife, one grebe with oil on it was recovered on Friday afternoon, according to the Coast Guard.

Surrounding Areas Taking Precautions

The City of Huntington Beach, which boasts the moniker Surf City USA, said on Friday that its Marine Safety Division is evaluating the coastline for any impact. The city said it received reports of tar balls, but there are no beach closures.

Neighboring cities of Newport Beach, Long Beach, and Laguna Beach also said in statements that they would be monitoring any impacts on their shorelines from the sheen.

Investigation Underway to Identify the Source

The Coast Guard said the exact source of the oil sheen is under investigation.

“Early thoughts are that it’s from a platform,” Foley said about the possible source of the sheen.

Efforts to Assess the Nature of the Spill

The California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response is trying to determine whether the incident is an active oil spill, California Sen. Dave Min said in a statement on Friday.

Past Incidents and Owner’s Statement

This comes about two years and five months after a massive spill of as much as 131,000 gallons of oil in the same vicinity prompted officials to close area beaches for about a week.

“At this time, we have no indication that this sheen is related to our operations,” said Amplify Energy, the owner of the oil pipeline from the 2021 spill, in a news release on Friday. “We will continue to cooperate with the U.S. Coast Guard and other relevant authorities and provide support in any way we can.”

Potential Impact on the Environment and Economy

The Surfrider Foundation, an environmental nonprofit based in California, said in a release Friday that the sheen “has the potential to cause devastating impacts to wildlife, the marine environment, and the coastline — in addition to significant economic and recreational impacts.”