The State : Cleanup of Oil Spill Begins

Cleanup efforts have begun near Martinez, where 2,300 gallons of oil spilled into an environmentally sensitive marsh from a utility pipeline, just a mile from a disastrous refinery spill earlier this year. There were no reports of fouled birds or animals, which are abundant in the region because it serves as a critical wildlife habitat. Vacuum trucks were being used by crews to siphon up the light crude, known as cutter stock, from Hastings Slough, several tidal pools and a creek, a Pacific Gas & Electric Co. spokesman said. The oil leaked sometime last week after the 16-inch pipeline developed a crack a few inches below the ground. It happened at a point just before the pipe leaves the ground and runs along an elevated trestle, the spokesman said. The crude leaked from the unused pipeline that runs from Richmond to Antioch, where PG&E; operates several power plants. The cause of the crack was under investigation.