For the second time in about a week, authorities today were investigating an oil sheen spotted off the coast ofHuntington Beach.
The sheen was detected Wednesday about a mile offshore from Bolsa Chica State Beach, according to the California Department of Fish andWildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response. The source of the sheen was unknown, but there were no immediate impacts on the shoreline.
Long Beach officials in a statement Thursday said local beaches and swimming areas have not yet been impacted by the oil sheen.
The size of the sheen is currently undetermined, officials said, however on its current trajectory northbound, the San Gabriel River, Long Beach shoreline and Port of Long Beach could be impacted as early as Friday morning, Dec. 24, the city said.
The rainy weather today and Friday is contributing to the oil sheen’s direction of travel and “will also likely disrupt efforts to locate and identify the source and contain it,” according to Long Beach officials.
“The City of Long Beach is actively looking at contingency plans for various scenarios and is prepared to clear beaches immediately, start our own local mitigation efforts and provide further updates as needed.”
According to OSPR, “protective strategies” were implemented overnight at “sensitive environmental sites” as a precaution, including Talbert Marsh, Bolsa Chica wetlands, Newport Slough and the Santa Ana River.
“An overflight is scheduled for this (Thursday) morning,” according to an OSPR Twitter post. “Samples were collected yesterday as part of the investigation and the source is yet to be determined.”
Last week, authorities responded to an oil sheen in roughly the same area, but about 2 miles off the coast. Investigators said that sheen did not appear to be the result of a pipeline leak.
A major pipeline leak was deemed responsible for a large release of oil that occurred off the Orange County coast in early October, prompting the closure of beaches and businesses along the shoreline.