Authorities face questions over how much damage could have been prevented after 126,000 gallons of crude seeped into ocean
More than 12 hours passed after officials were notified of a sheen on the water off the coast of southern California before a response to the Huntington Beach oil spill began, records show. Questions are now arising over why the response took so long and how that might have intensified the ecological disaster taking form on the Orange county coastline.
Roughly 126,000 gallons (572,807 liters) of heavy crude seeped into the ocean off Huntington Beach over the weekend in a suspected leak from an underwater pipeline, splattering the beaches with black. Coastal fisheries in the area are closed to commercial and recreational fishing, and the governor, Gavin Newsom, declared a state of emergency late on Monday. County prosecutors and federal agencies are considering charges and lawsuits.
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