Feds seek source of ocean fuel spill

By: PHILIP K. IRELAND - Staff Writer | Saturday, June 2, 2007 12:22 AM PDT ∞

ENCINITAS ---- As federal, state and local authorities scrambled Friday to contain what they said is the largest ocean fuel spill off Encinitas in 30 years, a search is under way from Mexico to San Francisco for the culprits.
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"We'll be investigating any vessel that was transiting at that time period," said U.S. Coast Guard Lt. Jeremy Altendorf during a press conference at Moonlight Beach on Friday. "This is a common investigation for us and we're going to take it very seriously and prioritize it based on the magnitude (of the spill) we've seen here in the last couple of days."

The federal Clean Water Act provides for penalties for discharges of petroleum products into waterways for any reason, Altendorf said, adding that any sanctions would be dependent on how and why the spill occurred.

The Thursday morning spill of 500 to 1,000 gallons, which authorities said they believed to be diesel fuel, closed beaches along the 2-mile stretch of coastline from Grandview Street south to D Street. The beaches will remain closed through at least Sunday morning, Altendorf said.

Officials said the spill posed no airborne threat to humans. The U.S. Department of Fish and Game reported no problems with wildlife as of Friday and will continue monitoring the coastline and lagoons through the weekend.

The spill also ended plans for the surfing competition portion of the third annual Switchfoot Bro-Am ---- a celebration of surfing, music and San Diego, according to festival organizers. Instead, the pro and amateur surfers who show up anyway will participate in a dodgeball tournament.

The musical part of the festival, a free public concert by Switchfoot, Jason Miraz and others, will go on as scheduled. The music starts at 11 a.m. at Moonlight Beach.

The spill was discovered by a boater who reported an oily sheen on the water Thursday morning, Altendorf said. The Coast Guard found the spill at about noon and took fuel samples from vessels in the area. Those samples will be compared to the chemical "fingerprint" of the fuel from the spill.

Altendorf would not comment further on the number or identity of the vessels already sampled.

The Coast Guard's Los Angles-based Vessel Tracking System is working to identify other ships that passed Encinitas between midnight Tuesday and 11 a.m. Thursday, Altendorf said.

Ocean waves, tides and the wind pushed the spill eastward to the beaches Thursday night. Friday's cleanup focused on keeping the spill off them. Altendorf said some of the spill had washed up, but said sand removal would not be required.

The smell of fuel permeated the northeasterly onshore breeze at Moonlight Beach on Friday morning where officials from the Coast Guard, the state Department of Fish and Game, San Diego County's hazardous materials team and the Encinitas Fire Department set up an operations center.

By Friday evening, the smell had dissipated at Moonlight Beach, according to Encinitas Lifeguard Capt. Larry Giles. The smell remained on the bluffs above Beacon's Beach on Friday evening but had decreased compared to Thursday, said area resident Deb Brody.

Altendorf said officials believe the spill was diesel fuel-based on past experience and current evidence. He said he expected lab tests to confirm it.

Friday morning, curious onlookers mingled with reporters as a Coast Guard helicopter buzzed the coast to assess the size and shape of the spill and the progress of the cleanup effort.

Workers with NRC Environmental Services readied a long yellow "boom" on Moonlight Beach as co-workers in a boat offshore pulled it into the water. They used the boom ---- a floating rubber curtain several football fields long ---- to corral, gather and contain the fuel. Once encircled, the fuel would be mopped up with absorbent pads, Altendorf said.

Altendorf said the cleanup captured much of the fuel but not all.

"I know we did pretty well," Altendorf said Friday night. "The odor's gone, but not all of the sheen. The ocean has to flush itself out now."

Altendorf said no water contact will be permitted from the beaches to three miles offshore. Officials encouraged families to come to the beaches Saturday but to stay out of the water and the wet sand.

"We're looking to keep people out of the water for 24 hours after our cleanup action for the water in the ocean to take care of itself," Altendorf said.

Altendorf estimated the cost of the cleanup at $60,000 as of noon Thursday.

Contact staff writer Philip K. Ireland at (760) 901-4043 or pireland@nctimes.com.

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