Southern California beach set to reopen after oil spill

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. — A Southern California beach that had been closed since an undersea pipeline leaked crude into ocean waters last week is set to reopen Monday, officials announced Sunday night.

City and state beaches in Huntington Beach will reopen after water quality tests revealed no detectable levels of oil associated toxins in the ocean water, Huntington city and California State Parks said in a news release. They are still urging visitors to avoid areas that smell of oil and not to touch any oiled materials that wash ashore.

That news will likely please beach-goers like Richard Beach, who returned to the waves in Huntington Beach on Sunday with his bodyboard — until lifeguards on jet skis chased him out. He trekked back across the beach, passing workers in hazmat suits tasked with clearing the sand of sticky, black blobs that washed ashore after the spill. He had previously stayed clear of the ocean after the oil leak sent a foul smell across the shore.

“The water’s perfect,” said Beach, 69. “Clear all the way to the bottom.”

Huntington Beach and nearby coastal communities have been reeling from last week’s spill that officials said sent at least about 25,000 gallons and no more than 132,000 gallons of oil into the ocean.

The spill was confirmed on Oct. 2, a day after residents reported a petroleum smell in the area. The cause is under investigation and officials said they believe the pipeline was likely damaged by a ship’s anchor several months to a year before it ruptured. It remains unknown when the slender, 13-inch crack in the pipeline began leaking oil.

On Sunday, there was no smell of oil and the sand looked largely clear by the Huntington Beach pier, where workers combed the sand for tar. But local officials worry about the environmental impact of the spill on wetlands, wildlife and the economy.