California Coast Vulnerable to Valdez-Size Spill, Officials Warn

A state Senate subcommittee was warned Thursday that not only could an oil spill the size of the Valdez incident happen in California waters, but it would be harder to clean up.

Representatives from the Coastal Commission, Department of Fish and Game and the U.S. Coast Guard told the Senate subcommittee on offshore oil and gas development that heavy seas off the coast of California would make surface containment of an oil spill almost impossible. They also contended that there are wide “gaps” along the coastline in which there are no containment vessels nearby to reach potential spill sites quickly.

The subcommittee, chaired by Sen. Gary K. Hart (D-Santa Barbara), called a hearing with officials from public agencies, oil companies and environmental organizations to discuss the Alaskan oil spill and assess the risk of a spill that size in California.

Department of Fish and Game representative Kim McCleneghan told the subcommittee that the task of cleaning up a spill off California the size of that created when the Exxon Valdez ran aground in Prince William Sound would be “overwhelming.”

McCleneghan said primary considerations in evaluating an oil spill cleanup are the weather conditions and the availability of cleanup equipment. Off the California coast, sea conditions would make it difficult to contain a spill.

McCleneghan said that if the Valdez spill had occurred off California, “the conditions for recovery would be even worse because we have an open, exposed coastline.”

“They are working in a sound, that has relatively good conditions for oil recovery. Off our coast we generally have high wind and wave conditions and this makes surface recovery even more difficult,” McCleneghan said.

Containment ships are needed to conduct surface recovery cleanup, and currently there are only four of these vessels along the California coastline, said Coastal Commission representative Brian Baird. One is located in the Los Angeles/Long Beach area, and three are in the Santa Barbara Channel. One is soon to be placed in San Francisco Bay.

Baird said there are gaps in the coastline that “don’t have any significant fast response.” These areas are in the far southern parts of the state off San Diego and north of San Luis Obispo.

“I think there is no question that a large incident, such as occurred in Alaska, could occur offshore California,” Coastal Commission Executive Director Peter Douglas said.