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Refugio State Beach Oil Spill Response
Learn how NRC, a recent Republic Services acquisition, managed a large crude oil spill in the Pacific Ocean.Byline: BTB Author
September 6, 2016 / Time to read: 5 minThe Challenge
On May 19, 2015, a pipeline ruptured close to Refugio State Beach near Goleta, CA, releasing roughly 100,000 gallons (2,500 barrels) of crude oil onto this pristine California coastal area. In total, approximately 21,000 gallons (500 barrels) of oil were released into the Pacific Ocean.
This oil cleanup was complex for several reasons. For starters, the affected area was vast. Respondents were assigned the difficult task of cleaning up oiled beaches from Goleta (25 miles north of Santa Barbara) to Ventura (43 miles south). Additionally, many of the oiled state beaches are considered Cultural Sensitive Sites under Native American Tribal land. For that reason, each beach site was monitored by tribal representatives and all cleanup techniques had to be approved by tribal representatives. For most of the sites, this meant hand cleaning the oiled rocky shoreline.
The Solution
NRC, a recent Republic Services acquisition, went to work pulling personnel to support their Long Beach and Port Hueneme offices for this major event. The 220 NRC respondents, including cleanup crews and supervisors, hailed from Seattle, WA to San Diego, CA; Reno, NV; and Syracuse and Great River, NY.
NRC worked within a complex Incident Command (IC) structure throughout the site — from initial spill deployment to restoration of land and beach areas until final completion.
