California oil spill harder to clean up in choppy waters

LOS ANGELES — A 10-square-mile oil slick off the California coast is thinner than a coat of paint and it's becoming harder to skim from choppy waters, officials said as more dead animals were discovered.

The combination of sunlight and waves Friday helped evaporate and dissolve some of the oil that blackened beaches and covered wildlife in thick goo after a pipeline on shore leaked up to 105,000 gallons on the Santa Barbara coast Tuesday.

Federal regulators ordered Plains All American Pipeline to drain the pipe that leaked, test the metal in the damaged section of pipe, and complete a series of steps before it can ask to resume pumping oil through the pipe to inland refineries.

"Before restarting operations, we're going to make sure they do things right," said Linda Daugherty of the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.

Investigators with the agency are looking into the cause of the spill and whether there was something Plains should have known about conditions in the underground pipeline and factors that could have contributed to the accident.

The spill is also being investigated by federal, state and local prosecutors for possible violations of state and federal law.

The pipeline safety agency's corrective action order said the 10.6-mile line had recently been inspected, but the results weren't known. Tests of the 2-foot-diameter pipe in 2012 found 41 anomalies mostly due to external corrosion, frequently near welds, the agency said.

The company has said there were no previous problems with the pipe.

Plains said it could take weeks or even months before investigators find what caused the disaster.

There's no estimate to how much damage the spill caused, but a dead dolphin was found in Santa Barbara Harbor and three dead pelicans were recovered.

It's not clear if the dolphin found in the harbor, about 20 miles from the source of the spill, died from exposure to oil, said Veterinarian Michael Ziccardi.

Two sea lions, an elephant seal and six pelicans have been rescued, said Ziccardi, director of the Oiled Wildlife Care Network.

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