Roads Reopened After Oil Spill Incident In Los Angeles
The following is courtesy of the California Department of Fish and Wildlife:
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| UNIFIED COMMAND |
Roads Reopened Near Los Angeles County Oil Spill Site; Clean-up and Containment Efforts Continue
Los Angeles, Calif. – Road closures have been lifted in the area where an underground crude oil pipeline was struck by a telecommunications contractor, after a Unified Command affirmed that the immediate public safety concerns in the area are resolved.
The Unified Command managing the response includes representatives from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), Los Angeles County Fire Department, and Pacific Pipeline System LLC (PPS), which operates the impacted pipeline.
The discharge occurred in the early hours of May 22 near the intersection of East Cesar E. Chavez Avenue and North Eastern Avenue. Crude oil entered nearby storm drains and impacted approximately 17 miles of the Los Angeles River. As of 9:00 a.m. PDT on May 28, sheening and product was contained north of the Pacific Coast Highway bridge.
Clean-up of discharged oil in the river channel is ongoing. Containment boom remains deployed within the river at multiple locations to prevent further migration downstream. The safety of the public and responders and minimizing impacts to the environment are the top priorities of the Unified Command.
Prior to reopening the road: soil conditions under the roadway near the incident were assessed; the affected roadway and sidewalk surfaces were cleaned; and the area was confirmed safe to reopen to all traffic. Longer-term soil remediation work in the area where the pipeline rupture occurred will be planned for a later date under the oversight of the Los Angeles Regional Water Quality Control Board. The work will be scheduled with consideration for community impacts and minimizing disruption to nearby residents and businesses.
Cleaning of oil in the affected storm drains within the immediate area of the intersection is complete. An interactive map showing the progression of remaining storm drain cleaning activities is available here.
The Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) has been activated to recover and care for oiled wildlife. For your safety and the safety of the animals, do not attempt to capture oiled animals. Report oiled wildlife to 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-877-823-6926). This is not an informational or volunteer hotline.
Information on wildlife operations as of May 27 at 3 p.m. PDT is available below. These numbers include all confirmed animals collected through response efforts and may include some injured or deceased animals not related to the incident:
- 100 birds collected live
- 8 birds collected dead
Daily updates on wildlife recovered during the response are available at OWCN.org.
An investigation into what led to the third-party line strike and the volume discharged is ongoing. The section of pipeline impacted by the third-party line strike has been replaced. The pipeline has not restarted.
Los Angeles County Fire Health Hazmat and South Coast Air Quality Management District (AQMD) conducted initial air monitoring and determined there was not a threat to public health. Air monitoring is ongoing out of an abundance of caution. For air quality concerns please contact the South Coast AQMD at 800-288-7664.
Public volunteers are not needed at this time, but an information line has been established that will provide updates. The number to call is 1-800-228-4544.
The claims phone number for this incident is 1-877-817-5465. Potential claims may include documented property, business or other incident-related damages and expenses.
For the latest information, follow social media updates at this handle:@CalSpillWatch
