Jessica Resnick Ault and Daniel Trrotta

(Reuters] – California Democratic Congressmen took advantage of the oil spillage off California’s coast in order to support federal legislation that would ban offshore oil drilling. Meanwhile, investigators sought to determine what caused the pipe to burst.

Around 3,000 barrels (or 126,000 gallons), of oil were released into the Pacific Ocean. This caused the death of wildlife and contaminated the coast. Officials also had to close several beaches in Orange County just south of Los Angeles. This spillage follows numerous other incidents that occurred in the Gulf of Mexico after Hurricane Ida in August. Pipelines and rigs were damaged and rigs were destroyed.

California is home to only 23 oil-producing rigs, which produce 12,000 barrels of crude daily from just one coast. This compares with the more than 1,000,000 barrels from the U.S. Gulf. California was once producing more than 200k barrels daily offshore. Some lawmakers would like to close the facility.

U.S. Representative Mike Levin (a Democrat from a District that is just south of the spillage) stated that “We must do everything we can to ensure we phase out 23 rigs out there currently” and ban new offshore rigs.

However, it is not clear whether Congressional Democrats will be able pass legislation that would curtail offshore drilling in particular the Gulf. The President Joe Biden pledged to decrease the country’s dependency on fossil fuels.

Trump’s administration actively considered approving drilling elsewhere, even on the East Coast of the United States, but it never materialized.

U.S. Coast Guard, drilling company Amplify energy (NYSE) Corp received further scrutiny regarding the response time. Reports indicate that the first reports of oily water in the ocean came from mariners on Friday night. However, official notification was not issued until Saturday afternoon.

Tom Umberg is a senator from state and represents the coastline. He told a conference that officials should explain the delay in responding to the incident, as well as whether the pipeline has been properly inspected.

Umberg joined a chorus of citizens and elected officials who were indignant to say, “It is very difficult for us understand how this could happen.”

THE THICK AND TARRY

According to the U.S. Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement, which oversees offshore activities, inspections of the pipeline that burst are required every two years. The last inspection of the pipeline by the BSEE was in October 2019.

Martyn Williamsher, Amplify Energy’s chief executive, stated that the oil appeared to have leaked from a 13 inch (33 cm) hole in the pipeline. The pipe was then pulled approximately 105 feet away from its intended location. Amplify is the owner of both the pipeline and its connected rigs.

U.S. Coast Guard Captain Rebecca Ore stated that all of the pipe’s 1.2-km (4,000 foot) length was moved laterally.

Leakage of thick, tarry oil is indicative of a type that’s thick. Federal filings show that the crude oil has an American Petroleum Institute gravity of 13-16, indicating its thick properties. This means that some crude may not be able to float and make it more difficult to clean up.

Alan Lowenthal (Democrat whose District is just north of Orange County’s spillage) stated Tuesday at a press conference that he supports legislation to ban oil drilling in either the Atlantic, Pacific or eastern Gulf of Mexico.

He said, “When drilling is done there will be spilling.”

After Ida, the powerful hurricane that destroyed many offshore facilities and transferred stations and shut down most of the Gulf’s oil and gas production capacities, more than 50 pollution reports were received by The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.