The State Lands Commission will be investigating the cause of the oil spill at Pier 421, the California Department of Fish and Wildlife Office of Spill Prevention and Response said in a news release.
The Commission will also work with a third party to assess the source of the “discharge.”
“The goal of the operation is to help the U.C. identify a point source for the 421 Pier Release and identify any potential discharges related to the incident,” the news release stated.
The Commission also investigated the interior of the “caisson” for oil and found no “free oil (only an oil soil mix),” according to the news release.
“The oil that was released and has repeatedly surfaced is identified as “weathered” because the lighter chemical compounds have broken down or evaporated over long periods of time. Continued sampling of oil surfacing on the beach outside of the caisson has been tested and the oil from the release is not matching the oil from the production zone of the well. The oil surfacing on the beach outside of the caisson, however, does have the same chemical characteristics as the oil sampled during the release,” the news release stated. The Commission also reestablished Unified Command and will continue to work with tribal governments on matters of cultural and other sensitive sites. Their ultimate goal is to “ensure that the plug and abandonment operations progress and that the eventual decommissioning and removal of the piers and remaining infrastructure will not pose a health and safety threat or a threat to the environment.”
