Santa Barbara spill update: finding the breach

Mary Bruno

Mary Bruno Jun 27, 2025

Feb 6, 2018

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                <h1>Santa Barbara spill update: finding the breach</h1>
                <h2><p>Workers in Santa Barbara begin the daunting task of excavating the 24-inch oil pipeline that ruptured on Tuesday, tarring nine square miles of California coastline with some 21,000 gallons of oil. "Our hope," said Michelle Rogow, on-site coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at a</p></h2>
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               <p>By <a href="/author/mary-bruno-crosscut-com/">Mary Bruno</a></p> 
              <p><time datetime="2025-02-04T05:00:00-08:00">Feb 6, 2018</time></p>
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            <p>Workers in Santa Barbara begin the daunting task of excavating the 24-inch oil pipeline that ruptured on Tuesday, tarring nine square miles of California coastline with some 21,000 gallons of oil. "Our hope," said Michelle Rogow, on-site coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at a press conference, "is that ... we'll be able to have a little bit more information as the pipeline is uncovered." But the investigation and the work, she added, "will likely go on for some time." The nearly 30-year-old pipeline, operated by Plains All American Pipeline, is capable of transporting up to 6.3 million gallons of crude a day, according to the <a href="http://www.latimes.com/local/lanow/la-me-ln-probe-california-coastal-oil-spill-pipe-excavation-20150521-story.html?ref=dev.cascadepbs.org"><em>Los Angeles Times</em></a>. So, glass half full: It could have been a whole lot worse.</p>
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Workers in Santa Barbara begin the daunting task of excavating the 24-inch oil pipeline that ruptured on Tuesday, tarring nine square miles of California coastline with some 21,000 gallons of oil. "Our hope," said Michelle Rogow, on-site coordinator for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, at a press conference, "is that ... we'll be able to have a little bit more information as the pipeline is uncovered." But the investigation and the work, she added, "will likely go on for some time." The nearly 30-year-old pipeline, operated by Plains All American Pipeline, is capable of transporting up to 6.3 million gallons of crude a day, according to the Los Angeles Times. So, glass half full: It could have been a whole lot worse.

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By Mary Bruno

Mary was Crosscut's Editor-in-Chief and Interim Publisher. In more than 25 years as a journalist, she has worked as a writer, editor and editorial director for a variety of print and web publications,