Coastal Guard Investigates Reports of An Oil Leakage Near California’s Southern Coast

The US Coast Guard said it was investigating reports of a 30 x 70 feet of oil cluster found on Saturday in about the same area where 25,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean. USCG Southern California wrote in a tweet Saturday afternoon that the spill was reported "near the damaged pipeline.” In a later update, the Coast Guard said, "Currently, no oil cluster has been observed from the water and air system." The old Sintgrass envelope has been removed from the pipeline and a new envelope has been installed. The crew will monitor the line overnight to confirm its effectiveness. Additionally, there is  ongoing research to determine whether the incident was related to the pipeline or another source.

The October leak was caused by a damaged pipeline that’s operated by Houston-based Amplify Energy, which is connected to an oil rig. Investigators thought that the 13-inch linear crack in the pipeline could have been caused by the dragging of the ship's anchors on the seabed, and could have occurred as it did a year ago. A spokesman for the California Department of Fish and Wildlife told CNN in a statement that crew members planning to work in the pipeline saw “warning signs” as they approached the area on Saturday. 

A diver who performed a planned inspection on the string found a small droplet on the synthetic glass cover. Unified Command investigated the cluster using a pollution responder and an oil spill control mechanism, checking if it was related to the pipeline (which came out to be true).