An oil glint detected in the ocean near last month’s Southern California crude pipeline leak was likely residual oil from the previous spill, an official said Sunday.
On Saturday, the U.S. Coast Guard sent planes and boats to investigate the oil glow measuring about 70 feet (21 meters) by 30 feet (9 meters) off the Orange County coast.
Coast Guard officials said Saturday night that the glow had faded and they would continue to monitor the area.
The Los Angeles Times reported that divers preparing to do a routine inspection of the damaged pipe saw small oil droplets near the damaged section, which since the spill has been encased in a material called Syntho-Glass. Divers removed the wrap and replaced it with a new one, said Eric Laughlin, a spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife.
The pipeline has been closed and no oil has passed through it since the Oct. 2 spill, Lughlin said Sunday. The oil detected on Saturday was "probably residual", said.
The glow was located in the same area where the subsea pipeline owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy leaked up to approximately 25,000 gallons (94,635 liters) of crude on October 2. marine mammal rescues.
The spill’s impact was less than initially feared, but it affected local wetlands and wildlife and shut down the shoreline in surf-loving Huntington Beach for a week.
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