The Oil Spill in Refugio, a Crime Scene?



The Crew Organizes to Excavate Pipeline as Investigation Continues

As a crew prepared to excavate the pipe that had spilled hundreds of containers of oil into the Pacific, Santa Barbara’s District Attorney Joyce Dudley was on the spot Monday, of a mind to deliberate it a “potential crime scene.” Her office has act against multiple environment-related cases in the past, she said, and could probably take on the Refugio spill, though she could not comment on the facts. She’ll be meeting with federal prosecutors this week to talk over the possibilities.


The area is being secured by Sheriff’s deputies for both the health and safety of the public, she explained and also to avoid impacting any evidence.


The north side of Refugio is just one area under isolation from the public. The beaches at Refugio and El Capitan are closed through June 4, and Coal Oil Point remains off limits. The fishing zones from Canada de Alegria to Coal Oil Point remain closed, states the Refugio oil spill’s Unified Command. A safety zone around the fisheries has also been made from west of Gaviota State Beach to west of Coal Oil Point. Aircraft, including drones, have in the same way been limited from a five-mile radius around the Refugio State Beach area to 1,000 feet ASL.


At the moment, a HAZWOPER (pronounced “haz-whopper”), or Hazardous Waste Operations and Emergency Response Standard training is planned for a couple days this week, followed by beach cleanups in order to show how to safely handle tars and oils, said a CERT volunteer at the Joint Information Center. The Unified Command press release express thanks to the community for its commitment and warned that volunteer opportunities would vary with the situation.

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