• It’s been a year since a ruptured pipeline spilled nearly 143,000 gallons of crude oil onto land and into the ocean at Refugio State Beach. On May 19, Sen. Hannah-Beth Jackson (D-Santa Barbara) issued the following statement in recognition of that day:
“The Refugio oil spill was devastating, killing more than 200 birds and nearly 100 marine mammals and costing millions of dollars to our local economy. Key questions remain unanswered about the full extent of damage to our environment, ocean waters, and marine life.
“But the oil spill taught us important lessons. It exposed serious gaps in federal, state, and county oversight of pipelines. I authored a bill that was signed into law, Senate Bill 295, to ensure annual pipeline inspections by the State Fire Marshal for pipelines under state oversight. If and when line 901 resumes operation, we must ensure that it falls under more appropriate and tighter state regulations and inspections. I also authored legislation, SB 414, to ensure better response to oil spills by requiring the state to investigate new technologies for cleanup.
“But one year later, we cannot lose sight of what was also exposed by this spill: our unsustainable dependence on oil.
“As long as we rely on oil, no law, regulation, or inspection schedule will fully safeguard against the next spill. Oil is dirty, dangerous, and destructive. If we drill, there will be spills. At a time when the oil industry is spending millions of dollars a year to influence policy-making, we must redouble our efforts to reduce our dependence on oil and recommit to cleaner forms of energy to power our future.”
• On May 19, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) released its final report on the findings from the investigation into the causes of the Plains Pipeline oil spill that affected the Gaviota Coast one year ago today.
Rep. Lois Capps (D-Santa Barbara) issued the following statement upon release of the report:
“One year ago today, the Plains’ operated pipeline line 901 ruptured spilling thousands of gallons of crude oil along the Gaviota Coast and into the ocean,” Capps said in a news release. “In the year since the spill we have made significant progress toward strengthening our nation’s pipeline safety standards, including efforts in Congress to pass a critical update to federal pipeline safety standards. The release of today’s report marks the next step in determining what actually happened so that we can fully understand what caused the failure, hold those responsible accountable for the harm done to the Central Coast community, and apply the lessons learned from the spill in federal safety standards. With millions of miles of pipeline operating around the country, the safety of communities across the country depends on it.”
The Final Investigative Report contains a comprehensive analysis of the underlying causes of—and response to—the failure and the factors that contributed to the extent of the spill. Additionally, the report contains an investigation into the state of Plains Pipeline operations and preparedness for an oil spill.
Capps has led congressional efforts to update federal pipeline safety standards in legislation known as the Pipeline Safety Act (H.R. 5050). H.R. 5050 includes several key provisions that were inspired by findings from the Plains spill investigation including:
• A required analysis of risk factors that, if present, would trigger more frequent integrity inspections;
• Clarification that all coastal beaches qualify as High Consequence Areas, which are subject to more frequent inspection standards and higher safety standards;
• And a study to look at the causes and best ways to prevent pipeline corrosion.
This article appears in May 26 – Jun 2, 2016.
