The State : Bay Oil Spill Estimate Rises

Shell Oil Co. increased its estimate of the magnitude of an oil spill in the upper San Francisco Bay from 21,000 gallons to 175,000 gallons. The eightfold increase in the oil spill came as scores of workers toiled to rescue waterfowl and other wildlife, and the state Water Quality Control Board estimated that it could cost Shell at least $1 million for the cleanup alone. The Audubon Society and biologists bemoaned the deaths of dozens of birds and other animals as well as the threat to eggs in nests in the Suisun Bay marshes oozing with thick, black crude. The oil hit the marshes Saturday after leaking from a Shell holding tank, the company has acknowledged. The cleanup estimate does not include probable penalties and other items, said Larry Kolb, the regional board’s assistant executive officer.