California beach to reopen after May oil spill

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., June 25 (UPI) -- A unified command responding to the May oil spill off the coast of Santa Barbara, Calif., said El Capitan beach is scheduled to reopen to the public Thursday.

Tourism authorities describe the beach as a "perfect" setting for recreational fishing and surfing. The beach has been closed since May 19, however, because of an oil spill from a line operated by Plains All American.

The unified command center said El Capitan will reopen Thursday afternoon, a day earlier than indicated by the California Department of Parks and Recreation.

Response crews last week started removing containment boom deployed off the Santa Barbara coast, though removal operations continue to gather oiled soils and vegetation. Lab analysis of residual oil reviewed this week by Plains found oil from the May pipeline release migrated more than 100 miles along the California coastline.

The pipeline system leaked as much as 2,500 barrels of oil in Santa Barbara County. About 500 barrels may have reached the waters off the coast.

Federal investigators found "extensive" corrosion on the breached pipeline, with walls degraded by as much as 74 percent of their original thickness in some locations.