Orange County Oil Spill Disaster Update

Dear Neighbor,

As you’ve no doubt heard and seen by now, our Orange County coastline is reeling from the impacts of one of California’s worst offshore oil spills and ecological disasters in the past 40 years. Since we learned about this spill, my team and I have been out in the field every day. You may have read or seen that I have called for an end to all offshore oil drilling, or that Governor Newsom accepted my invitation to come down to Orange County to tour our affected wetlands and beaches, or some of the other items we have been up to. But I wanted to give you a brief update on what we’ve seen and learned, and what we are doing in response.

First, the good news. At this point, it looks fairly clear that the oil spill was significantly smaller than was originally reported, and the total amount of oil spilled appears to be somewhere between one-fourth to one-half the size of the worse case estimates. Moreover, the strong storm we experienced last Monday night pushed much of the oil spill offshore and away from our coastline.

These fortuitous events, combined with an extraordinary collaborative effort between federal, state, and local agencies that quickly deployed thousands of feet of boom to contain this spill, meant that we avoided the worse case scenario we had feared. The Orange County Oil Spill will not be nearly as devastating as the 2015 Refugio spill near Santa Barbara to which it was initially compared.

But I want to be clear. While we may have avoided the worse case scenarios, this oil spill is still massive and is having devastating impacts on our beaches, our local economy, and our coastal ecosystems. And what’s worse is that this disaster was entirely avoidable. I am working closely with state and federal officials to ensure that those responsible are held accountable. My colleagues in the State Senate, including our leaders and the Chair of the Senate Natural Resources Committee have committed to me that we will be holding hearings to ensure that the investigation into how this spill happened are ultimately thorough and transparent.

But holding the guilty parties accountable is not enough. There is only one way to end the cycle of offshore oil spills terrorizing our coasts every few years, and that’s by ending ALL offshore drilling. The fact is that every major offshore oil spill that has hit California since 1969 has occurred from drilling and extraction performed under existing leases. If we want to end oil spills, we must not only implement a moratorium on new offshore oil leases, but we must also end drilling and extraction under current leases. I am proud of the fact that, along with my Orange County colleague, Senator Josh Newman, the City of Laguna Beach and its entire City Council, and other local leaders, we are formally calling for an end to all offshore drilling, including under existing leases. I will be introducing legislation to end all offshore drilling  in state waters when the new legislative session begins in January, and we are urging our federal counterparts in Congress to do the same for federal waters.

The fact of the matter is that the economic benefits of offshore drilling do not justify the massive costs that they create for our state and our coastal communities. California’s beautiful beaches and coastlines are famous throughout the world and generate $44 billion a year while employing over a half million people. Aging infrastructure and the nature of oil extraction itself means that offshore drilling will continue to result in oil spills. The math just doesn’t add up.

While we’re on the topic of the economy, I want to let you know that we’re also looking for ways to get relief to local businesses that have been impacted by the oil spill. Obviously, this has been a huge hit for our local hotels, restaurants, and other businesses that rely on tourism. Ultimately, these businesses will be able to levy claims against the responsible party (whether that is Amplify Energy or the operator of the Rotterdam Express or both), but that process might take some time, potentially years. In the meantime, these businesses need a lifeline to help them get through this disaster.

I spoke at some length with Governor Newsom about this issue. He has requested that the Small Business Administration declare this oil spill a disaster, which will allow local businesses to receive disaster assistance loans. The Governor was also receptive to my request to create some kind of short-term emergency relief funding from the state, similar to some of the business relief programs created during the COVID-10 pandemic, and we are exploring this with our legislative colleagues.

More detailed information on our activities are below. We will continue to be focused on this oil spill and will update you as appropriate. In the meantime, if you’d like to have more timely updates, you can follow me on Twitter (@SenDaveMin), Facebook (SenatorDavemin), or Instagram (@SenDaveMin).

Thank you for your engagement.

Yours in service,

Dave Min

Senator, 37th Senate District

Governor Newsom responds to my request

Given the immediate severity of this oil spill, I, alongside my colleagues Senator Tom Umberg and Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris, went straight to work and requested additional resources be provided to the State and Orange County, and asked that Governor Gavin Newsom declare a state of Emergency dispersers funding and resources for clean-up and to aid our coastal small businesses that may have been affected by this spill. I’m glad to report that Governor Newsom responded quickly to our request, and that help was immediately sent on its way.

Flyover with U.S. Coast Guard and Orange County Sheriffs

Following Monday evening’s thunder and lightning storm, the United States Coast Guard took me and my team on a C-27 overflight to survey the coastline and the Orange County Spill site. I was grateful to be joined by Congressman Lou Correa, and California Assemblymember Richard Bloom. While much of the oil following the storm was not immediately visible at that point, Admiral Brian Pennoyer told me that it was a sign that the spill would be just under the surface of our waters, mixing and emulsifying with sand to create tarballs and would be washing up on our shores even faster.

To assess our progress, late last week I joined the Orange County Sheriffs for a flyover of booms, skimming operations, deployed crews, and more. Thank you to Captain Ed Manhart and his team for all the hard work underway to protect the health and safety of our community. You can check out flyover footage HERE.

Introducing legislation to ban oil drilling off our coast

I’m proud to announce that I’ll be introducing legislation to ban all future and current oil drilling operations on our California coastline. Enough is enough.

You can read my whole press release by clicking HERE.

Briefing with Governor Newsom in HB

On Monday I requested that Governor Newsom come visit our coastline to see firsthand the damage that had been done. By Tuesday afternoon, the Governor was in Orange County. I was glad to sit and speak with him, and our other local leaders, about our next steps moving forward to prepare for the impacts on our economy and to ensure that our waters would never be terrorized again.

Visit to Talbert Marsh

On Wednesday morning, I led a visit of local elected officials to the Huntington Beach Wetlands, and the Talbert Marsh, the area most affected by the spill. While the cleaning efforts had improved the situation significantly, the smell of oil was still very pungent and the damage was evident.
 

Visit to the Oiled Wildlife Care Network Triage Center

Oiled animals are being treated at facilities like the Wildlife Care Center in Huntington Beach, where veterinary emergency teams from the UC Davis affiliated Oiled Wildlife Care Network perform life-saving care. I was honored to meet with veterinarians and to tour their operations. In addition to this facility, UC Davis teams are providing lifesaving care at the LA Oiled Bird & Education Center in San Pedro where the snowy plover and other endangered species are treated.

Please be sure to report any observations of impacted wildlife to OWCN at 1-800-823-6962.

Meeting and Rally with Students at UCI to End Drilling

Our students and younger generations are the future of this country, so I was honored to be invited to join CALPIRG and the students of UCI at their rally to end offshore drilling. It was incredible to see the tremendous energy that these young people have for protecting our environment. There is no Planet B.

Out on the Beach waiting for a press conference

While waiting for the Unified Command press conference to begin, we did a walk-through on the sand to survey the crude oil near the Huntington Beach Pier. Not only did we find an oiled bird (don't worry, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife came to the rescue) but we also discovered many tarballs already washing up on the shore. Though there’s still work to do, I’m grateful to all of our emergency response teams working around the clock to help our community recover.

My Letter to Our Federal Elected Officials

While moratoriums on future offshore drilling are important, the reality is they would not have prevented ANY of the major oil spills that have terrorized California’s coastline in the past 40+ years. If we want to stop Oil spills, we must go further. Along with Senator Josh Newman and other local leaders, I’m proud to be part of the first formal request from elected officials to end ALL offshore drilling performed under the 23 outstanding leases. Now is the time to act.

Read my letter to our Federal Representatives by clicking HERE.

Help for Impacted Small Businesses

Due to my calling on the Governor, and his swift action to declare a state of emergency, Orange County’s Small businesses impacted by the OC Oil Spill are now eligible for additional grants and funding through the State Treasurer’s Office. To learn more about the different affected communities you can visit the Treasurer’s website by clicking HERE or fill out a Certification form by clicking HERE.

Supplemental Severely Affected Community List: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cpcfa/calcap/program-notice/sac-designation-oct05.pdf

Contribution Lender and Borrower Certification Form: https://www.treasurer.ca.gov/cpcfa/calcap/forms/sac-contribution.pdf

Latest Official Update

• Over 1,300 responders from local/state/fed agencies
• 9 spill response vessels, and 4 aircraft
• 11,400 ft containment boom deployed to protect environmentally sensitive sites
• 660 ft of boom array for oil collection
• 6,000 ft staged for deployment if necessary
• 5,544 gallons of product recovered
• 192,500 lbs of oily sand and debris collected and removed from the shoreline

Impacted Wildlife and Official Tracker

• 24 Birds Recovered Alive
• 26 Birds Recovered Dead
• 0 Fish Recovered Alive
• 8 Fish Recovered Dead

You can find recurring wildlife updates here: https://owcn.vetmed.ucdavis.edu/pipeline-p00547-incident

We’re now registering volunteers

The Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response is in need of thousands of volunteers to help mitigate the damage done by Amplify Energy. If you’re over 18, can lift at least 25 lbs, and are willing to accept COVID protocols, please register by clicking HERE and filling out the form.

Important Resources

If you find any Oiled Wildlife please call the Oiled Wildlife Care Network at 1-877-UCD-OWCN (1-877-823-6926) and please DO NOT try to pick up any oiled wildlife yourself.

If you have any questions or any health concerns, please contact the Orange County Health Agency at 714-834-2000

Should you have any general inquiries regarding the oil spill you can call the Huntington Beach Oil Spill Hotline at 714-374-1702

For claims stemming from oil damage to your boat or property, please call Global Risk Solutions at 1-866-985-8366, and reference Pipeline P00547

For more information concerning beach closures, please see the websites specific to each jurisdiction. For more information concerning state park beach closures, visit https://www.parks.ca.gov/ParkIndex.