The Huntington Beach City Council voted unanimously to reopen the city’s beaches on Monday, May 28.
The where is huntington beach is a question that many people ask. Huntington Beach, California will be reopening Monday after being closed for over two weeks due to sewage spills.
HUNTINGTON BEACH, California (CBSLA) – After being closed for more than a week due to the huge oil leak, Huntington Beach’s city and state beaches reopened at 6 a.m. Monday.
On Oct. 4, 2023, environmental response workers clean Huntington Beach following an oil leak in the Pacific Ocean. (Photo credit: Getty Images)
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After water quality tests revealed non-detectable levels of oil-related pollutants in the water, Huntington Beach municipal authorities and California State Parks decided to reopen the beaches, according to a statement issued Sunday.
The city of Huntington Beach and California State Parks issued a statement saying, “With the reopening of the City and State beaches, the city of Huntington Beach and California State Parks urge everyone to use care while visiting the beach.” “An continuing advisory notice for all beaches in Huntington Beach remains in place due to the oil spill scenario and effects. Beachgoers are urged to stay away from places where there is an oil odor.”
Oily materials and tar balls are still expected to wash up on the shore, according to city authorities. “Do not touch or consume any oil products,” the warning reads.
If skin contact occurs, wash the area with soap and water or baby oil and avoid using solvents, gasoline, kerosene, diesel fuel, or similar chemicals on the skin.
The city of Huntington Beach engaged a private contractor to evaluate the water quality at 40 different locations. Testing revealed non-detectable levels of Polycyclic Aromatic Hydrocarbons (PAH) and Total Petroleum Hydrocarbons in all but one of the sites (TPH). According to the city, the only location that returned a measurable quantity of oil in the water was immediately north of Warner Avenue, which indicated a “non-toxic level” of oil in the water.
The beach reopening came more than a week after Amplify Energy Corp.’s pipeline spilled hundreds of gallons of oil into the seas off the coast of Orange County.
On the morning of Oct. 2, a pipeline break and spill was reported. The leak happened in federal waters, approximately 4 1/2 miles off-shore, at the Elly oil-rig platform.
Amplify Energy’s offshore drilling rigs are connected to a pump station in Long Beach via a roughly 18-mile connection.
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Federal officials verified that a portion of Amplify Energy’s oil pipeline was broken and dragged more than 100 feet over the ocean bottom, implying that the leak was triggered by a ship’s anchor.
Authorities originally believed that up to 144,000 gallons of oil may have spilled from the broken pipeline, but officials indicated Thursday that the real quantity is likely considerably lower, though no precise figure has been established. Capt. Rebecca Ore of the United States Coast Guard estimated that 588 barrels of oil had leaked, equating to approximately 24,700 gallons, during a press conference on Thursday afternoon.
There are concerns about when Amplify Energy detected the leak and whether or not it was reported to state and federal authorities on time.
Meanwhile, the Oiled Wildlife Care Network announced on Sunday that its rescuers had so far retrieved 58 species, including 50 birds and eight fish, that had been affected by the leak. Twenty-six birds were found alive, but all eight fish were found dead.
According to information given by the Unified Command in charge of the cleaning operation on Sunday afternoon:
– Over 1,600 individuals are involved in the response effort. — A total of 5,544 gallons of crude oil has been collected by vessel to far. — On Saturday, 13.6 barrels of tar balls were discovered. — – Shorelines have yielded about 250,000 pounds of greasy trash. A total of 11,400 feet of containment boom was carefully placed.
The United States Coast Guard leads the Unified Command, which also comprises authorities from the counties of Orange and San Diego, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Amplify Energy Corp.
Contractors cleaned up sites from Seal Beach to San Onofre Beach on Sunday, while authorities took water and soil samples along San Onofre Beach.
The city and state beaches in Huntington Beach will reopen at 6 a.m. tomorrow (10/11). After ocean water quality tests revealed non-detectable levels of oil-related pollutants in our ocean water, the unanimous decision to reopen was made.
https://t.co/m38x7892SC pic.twitter.com/uNpGS3aYqr for more information
— Huntington Beach, California (@CityofHBPIO) on October 11, 2023
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(CBS Broadcasting Inc., Copyright 2023, All Rights Reserved.) This article was written with the help of City News Service.)