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Oil spill cleanup costs surpassing $70 million

June 11, 2015

oil pipelineThe cost of cleaning up the Santa Barbara County oil spill has already reached approximately $70 million. [NBC Southern California]

Pipeline company Plains All American announced Wednesday that the cleanup cost had reached $69 million. Each day of the cleanup effort is costing $3 million, and there is no timetable for when it will be complete, Plains All American Pipeline spokesman Patrick Hodgins said.

On May 19, a pipe belonging to Plains All American ruptured near Goleta, causing as many as 105,000 gallons of crude oil to spill. Much of the oil flowed into a culvert and then into a ditch that drains into the ocean.

The spill spread over 9 miles of coastline, mostly consisting of sandy beaches. Workers have now cleared the oil from about 76 percent of the territory.

The exact cause of the oil spill remains unclear, but documents released by federal regulators indicate that testing conducted in early May found extensive external corrosion along some sections of the pipeline.

As a result of the spill, multinational company Exxon has stopped piping oil through Santa Barbara County. Exxon requests for permission to truck crude north along Highway 101 into and through San Luis Obispo County was denied.


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What a Joke. I drive by that “Oil Spill” several days a week. It has gone from a routine clean up to a political free for all. the road is closed down to one lane with trucks and heavy equipment lining the road way. Cars are backed up for miles while workers stand around doing nothing… because there’s not much to do. 97 miles of coast line… really? Criminal charges… Really??? 69 million and 3 million a day? for what??? more workers dispatched to stand around. Someone is making money, Probably the politicians.


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in response the sandy k, no injuries to wildlife? how many birds are killed by solar and wind farms every day? providing that solar and wind farms are working, working being the key word because its not sunny every day.


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Well, you certainly bring up a bad point….


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In other local news, a wind turbine broke, and a battery went bad in a solar panel….there were no injuries to wildlife, and both were repaired and back to work within a day.


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And we can all go to sleep tonight, safe in the knowledge that Plains All American and

Exxon will pay for all expenses out of their profits.


Or maybe, j-u-s-t maybe, all of the expenses for this spill will be quickly passed on to

the consumer in increased fuel charges.


Any bets on which is most likely??


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Pipes were underground, not a raised pipeline. Out of sight – Out of Mind


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What is remarkable is that the cost of deferred maintenance currently at 70 million and expected to rise significantly, means little or nothing to the responsible party…just another day at the office.


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Thanks you for the local employment opportunities. $3 million each day!


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I am guessing that these pipes are inspected on a regular basis by the regulatory agencies. Why did they not find the “extensive external corrosion” on earlier inspections if it existed? It seems to me that “extensive external corrosion” dosen’t happen over night. Sounds like a case of unfounded finger pointing and CYA statements. The pipeline operator is hard pressed to fight back due to the fear of retribution.


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Your conjecture makes absolutely no sense whatsoever.


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“The spill spread over 97 miles of coastline”


I think that is a typo….


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I think you don’t care for facts.


The only typo’s are your fingers on the keyboard..


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