Spill Rated ‘Ecological Disaster’
Associated Press
MARTINEZ, Calif. —
The state Water Quality Control Board labeled Shell Oil’s 175,000-gallon oil spill an “ecological disaster” today as the wildlife death toll rose to 130 birds and dozens of small marsh animals.
Larry Kolb, the regional board’s leading engineer, said there is no doubt of the magnitude of the spill’s serious consequences, echoing biologists’ estimates that it might take a year for the highly prized marshlands to recover from Saturday’s spill at the Martinez refinery.
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