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On Wednesday, California Governor Jerry Brown declared a state of emergency for Santa Barbara County.
As many as 105,000 gallons of crude oil might have spilled from a ruptured pipeline.
Cleanup teams are sought to limit the environment impact from a ruptured underground pipeline.
It is believed that more than 20,000 gallons have spilled into the oceans, seeping through the ground into a culvert and flowing into the ocean near Refugio State Beach.
Oil slicks have stretched 9 miles along the coastline.
Houston based Plains All American Pipelines is the owner of the pipeline that ruptured Tuesday afternoon. The last inspection of the pipeline was held in 2012.
The pipeline can pump as many as 6.3 million gallons a day, averages a flow rate of some 50,400 gallons per hour.
Darren Palmer, district manager for Plains All American said, “We’re sorry this accident has happened and we’re sorry for the inconvenience to the community.”
No estimate has been made on the harm to the local natural life, but officials believe that to make estimate damage at least three days are needed or many more to clean up the spill before the damage can be assessed.
