Black spreads through the sea, destroying everything in its path, leaving a damaged environment, and economy. This is no supernatural monster, but the result of a devastating oil spill. Off the coast of Orange County in Southern California in October 2021, the threat of an oil spill caught the attention of everyone around it - raging across newspapers, and the media like wildfire.
Oil spills have been some of the most drastic and dangerous environmental occurrences through previous generations. Even a small spill can take around 15 years for the effects to be completely gone, and it damages everything around it. For example, marine wildlife is greatly affected by oil spills, as it alters their environment and threatens their ability to survive. All types of wildlife are affected, including birds, mammals, and fish. Up to millions of animals can be killed every year due to oil spills. Seafood is also scarce during oil spills as much of the wildfire is contaminated by the oil, which is not healthy for one to ingest.
Oil spills also affect the economy, as cleaning up and attempting to repair the damage takes a lot of time. This time and effort are taken away from businesses and industries that thrive off of coastal resources, such as fishing industries, and coastal tourist businesses. Thereby generating a multitude of losses in profits and customers for these corporations. Money is also a major factor going into oil spills, as it can cost almost 10 billion dollars for some large spills to be cleaned.
Oil spills affect everyone and everything - from animals and environmental supporters, to those working in the economy, or people that just simply enjoy trips to the beach. Therefore, when the sight of an oil spill was found in October of this year, it was quick to be addressed.
This oil spill occurred about 5 miles from the coast of central California, and more specifically near Huntington Beach in Orange County. It was discovered to be caused by a ruptured pipeline, punctured by a ship’s anchor, months before the spill. This caused massive amounts of crude oil to pour into the sea through the pipe. Initial estimates went up to 132,000 gallons of oil spilled. However, after further investigation, it was found that around 25,000 gallons spilled into the water. The spill was quickly addressed, and though it was a small spill, the cleanup had to be immediate as it could still have drastic effects. Cleanup has already started, to prevent some of the consequences. Fishing has now been banned along the coast of Orange County as cleanup progresses, and workers comb for tarballs, which are pieces of oil, along coastlines.
As cleanup continues, many are looking at the cause of this spill. The pipe was owned by a brand known as Amplify Energy. People are starting to point fingers, and find someone to blame for this almost catastrophic spill. The pipeline is to be inspected to see if there is any evidence of corrosion, or that it was neglected by the company. This negligence could result in major legal turmoil, which can be almost as devastating to their business as it is to the environment. Fines can range from $500,000 to as much as double the total damage. Amplify Energy could also be charged with failure to report the spill quickly, and allowing the oil to harm wildlife and marine species. This has occurred in other instances and is similar to an oil spill in Santa Barbara back in 2015. Plains All American Pipeline was charged with failure to report the spill and harming wildlife. Therefore, Amplify Energy could face the same legal repercussions due to this oil spill.
Many agencies and groups are working hard to prevent these environmental disasters from continuing. For example, Oceana, which is an “ocean conservation group” believed that drilling for both gas and oil offshore should be discontinued as these possible spills greatly affect marine life. Even the general public is starting to call for a ban on offshore drilling to prevent oil spills in the future.
While this oil spill may not have been as disastrous as it could have been, legal action and the public are both taking stands against the oil spill. Action needs to be taken to prevent spills like this in the future, and keep the black monster from creeping back through the ocean and into our lives again.