Federal Regulators Say Oil Pipeline Owner Will Have To Pass Series Of Tests Before Restarting
SANTA BARBARA (CBSLA.com) — Federal regulators on Friday said that the owner of a pipeline that leaked hundreds of barrels of oil into the ocean off Santa Barbara, would have to face a series of tests before they could resume business.
It was also announced on Friday that two popular beaches normally crowded on a Memorial Day weekend would be closed.
CBS2's Amy Johnson spoke to a couple who hadn't heard about the spill or the beach closures.
The couple had just flown in from San Francisco from their native Amsterdam. They had been camping for the past three days.
They had planned to spend the weekend at Refugio State Beach, near Santa Barbara. Along with El Capitan, those two popular destinations are closed until further notice.
The spill isn't just impacting tourists, visitors and locals at the unofficial start of summer, but also is having a big impact on sea creatures.
"Wildlife experts are walking the beaches looking for any affected wildlife," Coast Guard Capt. Jennifer Williams said.
The Department of Transportation's Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration ordered Plains All-American Pipeline to shut down operations.
"We issued a corrective action order yesterday," said Chris Hoidel with the U.S. Department. of Transportation. "It orders the pipeline to say shutdown until we give approval to restart it."
They also ordered the broken part of the pipe to be sent for metallurgical testing.
The company was also ordered to remove all remaining oil in the pipe within 10 days.
Johnson reported Refugio and El Capital beaches are scheduled to reopen on June 4.
