Refugio May 2015 – 2016

Discharge discovered May 19th, 2015 RP’s worse case estimate: 101,000-gallons of Santa Barbara Crude

Location & Pathway

Day 1

Unified Command Established USCG Sector LA-LB Sector Commander, EPA Region 9, CA DFW, Santa Barbara Co OEM, Plains All American

Significant Environmental, Cultural, Historical & Social Concerns 2 Marine Protected Areas (Kashtayit & Naples) 23-mile by 7-mile mile fishery closure Wildlife impacts – birds, mammals, grunion spawning, snowy plovers… Significant high tides Chumash Indian Tribe (Federal) – 2, ,000 coastal members – Inhabitants of SB Coast for over 13,000 years Varied Beach composition & environments: – Cobble, Rock, Sand, Cliffs, Bluffs, Kelp, Marinas, Parks

Santa Barbara: o 1 of 2 counties in CA with an MOU to be part of UC for oil spills High Tourist Season: o Refugio & El Capitan State Beaches closed o Memorial Day, July 4 th, & UCSB Commencement Weekend; Seafood Festivals; SF to LA AIDS LifeCycle event 2,500 bicyclists…. Affluent & popular residents/land owners: o Oprah Winfrey, Brad Pitt, Kevin Costner, Steven Spielberg Birthplace of modern environmental movement o 1969 Santa Barbara Spill o led to 1 st Earth Day in 1970 o Over 55 local environmental NGOs

Over 100,000 bbls/day produced offshore from CA in State & Fed waters

Location of Worlds 2 nd Largest Natural Oil Seeps Southern CA: 25,000 gal/day (5 mil/year) Coal Oil Point: 6,300-7,140 gal/day

Concurrent Incident & Seep Oiling on Beaches South Bay Incident Command Post – $1.5 mil FPN Oil/tarballs on beaches in: – Santa Barbara, Ventura, Los Angeles & Orange Counties 96.5 Miles Assessed for Refugio & South Bay Incidents Complicated oil forensics – Multiple analytic methods, on-going investigations, public demand for results

Robust JIC, Public Affairs, Community Relations “Stakeholder listening event” – NGOs & interest groups Community Relations Open House – important public information tactic – community knowledge of response ops Media availabilities & over-flights for greater transparency & to demonstrate progress.

Volunteers Huge volunteer turnout & initial conflicting messages from local companies (free buckets from Home Depot, Lowes) Nearly 150 affiliated volunteers – Santa Barbara County Community Emergency Response Team (CERT) volunteers – California Conservation Corps (CCC) – Local Fire Community hand crews – Oiled Wildlife Care Network (OWCN) volunteers – CDFW Natural Resource Volunteer Program (NRVP) volunteers coordination with Cal Volunteers, Cal OES, City of Santa Barbara, and Santa Barbara County to support the efforts of volunteers.

Spontaneous Unaffiliated Volunteers, and others Beach clean-up and various tasks – May 25 & 28 th : 200 people trained in Hazard Safety Communication Training – May 27, 30 & 31 Beach Cleanups

Lessons Observed Activate NCP Special Teams & Legal assistance Managing Stakeholders and Elected Officials Delegation of Sector authorities (COTP, ACTSUS) Social Media Safety & Risk Management Deputy IC Security / Threats to responders