The latest news about the oil spill in the Montebello hills is out and to borrow a phrase from T.V.'s Ricky Ricardo, it looks like PXP has "got some 'splaining to do!"
The California Department of Fish and Game has opened an investigation to see if PXP violated water pollution laws when 10 barrels of produced water and 40 gallons of crude oil escaped from a broken pipe and into the Rio Hondo River on April 19, 2011.
EGP News.com reports:
Clean up of the spill sites have concluded, according to Alexia Retallack, a spokesperson for the state agency, and they are now determining how the spill occurred and whether they should refer the matter to the district attorney’s office for possible prosecution.
Spill in Montebello Hills Contaminates Storm Drains, Rio Hondo.
By Elizabeth Hsing-Huei Chou, EGP Staff Writer
April 28, 2011
The EGP News story also says:
An investigator is assessing the location where the spill occurred and conducting interviews to determine if the spill could have been prevented, Retallack said.
Hooey! That's gonna be interesting! The EGP News story goes on to say:
Another spill from the Montebello Hills oil field owned by PXP was reported to Cal EMA back in September 2010. The original report says an unknown amount of oil was spilled, but an update states 2 to 3 barrels were released.
Whoa Nellie! There's 42 gallons in a barrel which means 84 to 126 gallons of oil was spilled!
Based on information available through the California Emergency Management Agency's Hazardous Material Spill Reports, it sounds like the 2010 spill affected the same storm drain!
Dadgummit PXP, you've had a little more than 7 whole months to find a way to keep your messes out of the public storm drains! Y'all ever hear of a thing called a "sand bag?"
Seriously folks, it makes a body want to cry just thinking about all the little critters and foliage that could have been spared an oily demise.
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| A victim of last week's oil spill. |
Just one of the dying fish observed by Michael Popoff and L.A. Times reporter Louis Sahagun.
Photo courtesy of Michael Popoff, used by permission.
In memoriam, scroll on down to the bottom of this blog page and y'all can use your cursor to feed the "ghost fish."
R.I.P.
Daisy Mae
I suppose for the California Fish and Game statment that no wildlife was endangered to be true, Louis Sahagan must have coincidentally encountered this fish thrashing about in a pond full of chemicals and oil apparently in its death throes from natural causes.
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