The Santa Barbara oil spill happened in January and February 1969 in the Santa Barbara Channel, near the city of Santa Barbara in Southern California. At the time, it was the largest oil spill in United States waters. It is still the largest oil spill to occur in the waters off California.
The spill began on January 28, 1969, when a blow-out happened on Union Oil’s Platform A, located 6 miles (10 km; 5 nmi) from the coast in the Dos Cuadras Offshore Oil Field. Over ten days, about 80,000 to 100,000 barrels (13,000 to 16,000 m³; 3,400,000 to 4,200,000 US gallons) of crude oil spilled into the channel and onto the beaches of Santa Barbara County in Southern California. The oil covered the coastline from Goleta to Ventura and the northern shores of the four northern Channel Islands.
The spill harmed marine life in the channel, killing about 3,500 seabirds and marine animals like dolphins, elephant seals, and sea lions. The strong public anger caused by the spill, which received wide media coverage in the United States, led to the creation of many environmental laws in the following years. These laws form the legal and regulatory framework for the modern environmental movement in the U.S.
Background
There is a lot of oil in the thick rock layers under the Santa Barbara Channel, which has made the area important for the petroleum industry for over 100 years. The southern coast of Santa Barbara County was where the world’s first offshore oil drilling happened. It took place from piers at the Summerland Oil Field in 1896, just 6 miles (10 km) from the spill site. The development of the Summerland field led to an economic boom, which changed the spiritualist community of Summerland into an oil town in just a few years.
Oil development in the Channel and nearby coastline was controversial even in the late 1800s. At that time, the city was becoming a health resort and tourist destination known for its natural beauty, unspoiled beaches, and good weather. In the late 1890s, when the Summerland field expanded closer to Santa Barbara, a group of midnight vigilantes, led by a local newspaper publisher named Reginald Fernald, tore down one of the rigs built on Miramar Beach (now a luxury hotel site). In 1927, oil was discovered west of Santa Barbara, leading to the development of the Ellwood Oil Field. This caused the city to be surrounded on both sides by oil fields, with the new Ellwood field being a valuable resource and the older Summerland field becoming mostly abandoned and run-down. In 1929, the Mesa Oil Field was found within the city, near what is now Santa Barbara City College. Construction of homes near the Mesa field stopped because oil development offered faster profits for land developers. Oil derricks were built on narrow lots meant for houses, and local protests did not stop the drilling because a city law allowed it. The derricks were removed only after oil production from the Mesa field dropped suddenly in the late 1930s.
Improved technology allowed drilling farther from shore, and by the middle of the 20th century, drilling was happening near Seal Beach, Long Beach, and other areas on the Southern California coast from human-made islands in shallow water. Near the oil spill site, the first drilling island was built in 1958 by the Richfield Oil Company. Named Richfield Island (now Rincon Island), it was built in 45 feet (14 m) of water near Punta Gorda, between Carpinteria and Ventura, to access the offshore part of the Rincon Oil Field. This island, now owned by Greka Energy, is still used for oil production.
Geologists in the Santa Barbara Channel discovered that the anticlinal trend, which holds the productive Rincon and Ventura Oil Fields, extended under the Channel. Oil prospectors looked for ways to drill in deeper water. Seismic testing under the Channel began shortly after World War II to find petroleum reservoirs deep under the ocean floor. The testing was loud and caused problems, such as broken windows, cracked plaster, and dead fish on beaches. Local citizens and the Santa Barbara News-Press strongly opposed the practice, but it continued after delays and stricter controls. The testing confirmed what oil geologists suspected: the presence of large oil reserves in shallow water, about 200 feet (60 m) deep, within reach of new ocean-drilling technology.
Legal and legislative actions delayed actual oil platform construction until the mid-1960s, as the federal and state governments debated ownership of submerged lands. Congress passed the Submerged Lands Act in 1953, giving states control of lands within 3 nautical miles (6 km) of shore, known as tidelands. After more than two years of discussion, Santa Barbara reached an agreement with oil companies, creating a no-drilling zone in the Channel 16 miles (26 km) long and 3 miles (5 km) wide near the city. However, major oil fields were found on both sides of this zone, and the state granted drilling rights starting in 1957. Development began with the first offshore oil platform, Hazel, built in 1957. Platform Hilda, next to Hazel, was built in 1960. Both platforms tapped into the Summerland Offshore Oil Field and were visible from Santa Barbara on clear days. Platform Holly, in the offshore part of the Ellwood Oil Field about 15 miles (24 km) west of Santa Barbara, was placed in 1965.
Next, development of leases in federal waters began. As technology improved and seismic surveys showed oil was likely present, the federal government offered leases for parts of the Santa Barbara Channel outside the 3-mile (5 km) tidelands limit. This was possible after a 1965 Supreme Court decision that gave these areas to the federal government. The first lease sale happened on December 15, 1966, after a notice in the Federal Register was overlooked by local officials. A group of oil companies, including Phillips, Continental, and Cities Service Oil Company, won the first lease by paying over $21 million for the right to drill on about 3 square miles (8 km²) of ocean floor in the Carpinteria Offshore Oil Field. Their rig, Platform Hogan, became the first offshore oil platform in federal waters in California. It started operating on September 1, 1967. On February 6, 1968, 72 leases were auctioned. A partnership between Union Oil, Gulf Oil, Texaco, and Mobil won Lease
Oil spill
Platform A was located 188 feet (57 meters) underwater, 5.8 miles (9 kilometers) from the shore at Summerland. It had 57 slots for wells, allowing it to drill into the oil reservoir from different angles. At the time of the spill, it was one of twelve platforms in the waters off California, and one of two operated by Union Oil in the Dos Cuadras field. Four oil wells had already been drilled from the new platform, but they were not yet producing oil. Work on the fifth well was in progress.
On the morning of January 28, 1969, workers drilling the fifth well, A-21, reached a depth of 3,479 feet (1,060 meters) in just 14 days. Only the top 239 feet (73 meters) of the well had a steel conductor casing. The rest was planned to be fitted with casing later. After the drill bit was removed, a large burst of oil, gas, and drilling mud erupted into the air, covering the workers in dirt. Workers tried to attach a blowout-preventer device to the pipe, but the pressure was too high—over 1,000 pounds per square inch (7 MPa). This attempt failed, and most workers were evacuated because of the danger of explosion from the gas escaping. As a last effort, workers dropped the remaining drill pipe—nearly 0.5 miles (800 meters) long—into the well and used "blind rams," large steel blocks, to crush the top of the well pipe. It took 13 minutes from the blowout to stop the flow. Soon after, workers noticed bubbles rising from the ocean surface far from the rig. Plugging the well at the top had not stopped the blowout, which was now causing damage to the ocean floor.
Offshore wells usually have at least 300 feet (91 meters) of conductor casing and 870 feet (270 meters) of a secondary steel tube called the surface casing. These protect against high-pressure gas escaping into surrounding rock layers. At Well A-21, this is what happened. Without enough casing below 238 feet (73 meters), the gas pressure caused oil and gas to escape through the soft sandstone on the ocean floor, creating a large oil slick that spread across the water.
Surface disturbances began 14 minutes after the blowout. Over the next 24 hours, the largest disturbance was a boil-up 800 feet (200 meters) east of the platform. Smaller disturbances appeared 300 feet (100 meters) west of the platform and near the platform itself. Even after workers used drilling mud to plug the well, the disturbances continued. Later investigations found oil and gas escaping through five separate cracks on the ocean floor.
About two and a half hours after the blowout, Don Craggs, Union Oil’s regional manager, told Lieutenant George Brown of the U.S. Coast Guard that a well had blown out but no oil was escaping. He refused help, claiming the situation was under control.
The next morning, a Coast Guard helicopter confirmed an oil slick extending several miles from the platform. By 8 a.m., the slick covered about 75 square miles (200 square kilometers). A worker on the rig called a newspaper, and Union Oil confirmed the spill. A Union Oil vice president claimed the spill was small, with a diameter of 1,000 to 3,000 feet (300 to 900 meters), and estimated the spill rate at 5,000 U.S. gallons (19 cubic meters) per day. Later estimates showed the spill rate was 24,000 U.S. gallons (91 cubic meters) per day, totaling about 210,000 U.S. gallons (790 cubic meters) in the first days.
Santa Barbara was experiencing a stormy winter, with heavy rain on January 25, three days before the blowout. Freshwater from streams flowed offshore, and north-northwesterly winds pushed the oil slick away from the shore. However, a storm on February 4 changed wind patterns, pushing the oil north into Santa Barbara Harbor and onto beaches in southern Santa Barbara County and northwestern Ventura County. Booms were placed to contain the oil, but heavy surf caused the booms to fail. By morning, the harbor, with 800 boats, was covered in oil. Residents were evacuated due to the risk of explosion, and chemical dispersants were used to break up the oil near the shore.
On February 5, residents awoke to the smell of crude oil and saw blackened beaches covered in dead and dying birds. The oil was up to 6 inches (150 millimeters) deep in some areas. A witness described a scene where a high school student saw a man covered in oil.
Media coverage of the spill was intense. The spill was the main news on February 5, appearing in newspapers, on radio, and on television. A U.S. Senate subcommittee met with local officials and Union Oil’s president, Fred Hartley, to discuss the disaster. Hartley claimed the event was not a disaster because no human lives were lost and only a few birds were affected. Offshore drilling was suspended on February 3, following pressure from officials.
Consequences
The environmental effects of the spill were quick and serious. At least 3,686 birds died. Some marine mammals, like sea lions and elephant seals, also died, but the exact number is unknown. Other organisms were affected in different ways. Fish populations seemed to be fine in the long term, but data from 1969 showed fewer fish of some species. Scientists who studied the fish were not sure if the oil spill caused the changes, because other factors, such as water temperature and a later El Niño year, might have also played a role. Many intertidal organisms, like barnacles (Chthamalus fissus), died in large numbers, with up to 80 to 90 percent dying in some areas.
Long-term environmental effects of the spill seemed small. A study funded by the Western Oil and Gas Association, through the Allan Hancock Foundation at the University of Southern California, suggested possible reasons for the lack of long-term damage to most life in the Channel, except for pelagic birds and intertidal organisms. First, creatures there may have developed a way to survive oil in the water because natural oil seeps have been present for tens of thousands of years in the area around Coal Oil Point, which has one of the most active natural underwater oil seeps in the world. Second, the water might have more oil-eating bacteria because of the regular presence of oil. Third, the spill happened between two large Pacific storms, which helped break up the oil and spread it quickly. Storms also increased the amount of sediment in the water, helping the oil sink faster. Fourth, the oil from the Santa Barbara Channel is heavy, with an API gravity between 10 and 13, and it does not mix well with water or stay on the surface. This meant that fish and other organisms were exposed to the oil for a shorter time than in other oil spills, like the 1967 Torrey Canyon spill, where lighter oil stayed in the water longer after being treated with toxic chemicals.
A story in Life magazine, published on June 13, 1969, reported that large sea mammals were harmed by the spill. In late May, reporters visited San Miguel Island, part of the Santa Barbara Channel Islands, known for its elephant seals and sea lions. They found over 100 dead animals on a beach still covered in oil.
The economic effects of the spill were worst in 1969, when commercial fishing was stopped in the affected area, and tourism dropped sharply. Many ocean-related businesses were affected. Property damage along the shoreline was severe because storms washed oil beyond the normal high-tide line. Both government groups and private individuals filed lawsuits against Union Oil to recover damages. These were settled in about five years. The City of Santa Barbara received $4 million in 1974 for damages. Hotel and beachfront property owners received $6.5 million; commercial fishing businesses received $1.3 million; and cities, the state, and the County of Santa Barbara received $9.5 million in total.
The Santa Barbara oil spill was not the only event that led to modern environmental laws in the United States, but it was one of the most visible. During the 1960s, public attention grew about industrial pollution, starting with Rachel Carson’s 1962 book Silent Spring and events like the 1967 Torrey Canyon oil spill and the 1969 Cuyahoga River fire. At the time, the Santa Barbara spill was the largest oil spill in U.S. waters, and the conflict between local residents and the oil company made the environmental movement more public and stronger. In the years after the spill, more environmental laws were passed than in any other similar period in U.S. history.
The spill tested the new National Pollution Contingency Plan, passed into law by President Lyndon Johnson in 1968. Officials from the Federal Water Pollution Control Administration, created in 1965, came to Santa Barbara to manage the cleanup and stop the oil leak.
Local groups formed after the spill, including Get Oil Out! (GOO), the Environmental Defense Center, and the Community Environmental Council. Rod Nash, Garrett Hardin, and others started the first undergraduate Environmental Studies program at the University of California, Santa Barbara. A California ballot initiative created the California Coastal Commission, which oversees activities within 3 nautical miles (6 km) of the shoreline and inland areas.
The National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) changed regulations by requiring all federal projects to be reviewed for environmental impacts before approval, including public input. This included plans for new offshore oil drilling.
The California State Lands Commission has not given new offshore drilling permits since 1969, though existing operations like Platform Holly and Rincon Island continue. A 2009 proposal to drill from outside the state-controlled zone was rejected.
Drilling beyond the 3-mile limit in federal waters has been more complicated. Existing drilling has continued, but no new federal offshore drilling permits have been given since 1981. In 1976, new leases were sold near Orange County, leading to platforms like Edith and Eureka. In 1979, platforms Harvest and Hermosa were built near Point Arguello. In 1981, more leases were sold, leading to platforms Hidalgo and Irene.
In 1981, Congress passed a rule stopping new offshore oil drilling, except in the Gulf of Mexico and parts of Alaska. This rule remained until 2008, when Congress did not renew it.
Current operations
Platform A is located in the Santa Barbara Channel along with Platforms B, C, and Hillhouse. These platforms continue to pump oil from a field that has mostly run out of oil. By 2010, the Dos Cuadras Field had produced 260 million barrels of oil. In 2010, the Minerals Management Service estimated that 11,400,000 barrels (1,810,000 cubic meters) of oil remaining in the field could be extracted using current technology.
The current company in charge of the drilling platform, along with the other three platforms in the Dos Cuadras Field, is DCOR LLC, a private firm based in Ventura, California. DCOR bought Platform A from Plains Exploration & Production in 2005. This is the fourth company to manage the platform since Unocal sold its Santa Barbara Channel operations in 1996.