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, the city of Huntington Beach 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 surfers and beach-goers like Richard Beach, who returned to the waves in Huntington Beach with his bodyboard — until lifeguards jet skis chased him out on Sunday.
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.
Huntington Beach and nearby coastal communities have been reeling from last week’s spill that officials said sent at least about 25,000 gallons (95,000 liters) and no more than 132,000 gallons (500,000 liters) of oil into the ocean.
It was caused by a leak about 5 miles (8 kilometers) off the coast in a pipeline owned by Houston-based Amplify Energy that shuttles crude from offshore oil platforms to the coast.
