Santa Barbara – In 2015, after 140,000 gallons of heavy crude oil from the Plains All American Pipeline spill struck Santa Barbara County beaches, there was a significant bottleneck preventing people who wanted to volunteer and stopping County residents from learning about, engaging in, and participating in the recovery efforts. This yet-unsolved challenge is the focus of a project of the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) which has just received $7,300 in grant funding from the Fund for Santa Barbara to help improve county, state, and federal responses to future disasters.
EDC’s project, entitled “Emergency Preparedness: Learning Lessons from the Refugio Oil Spill,” builds upon the work EDC has been leading since May 19, 2015, when the pipeline rupture spilled oil on public beaches up to 150 miles away, killed at least 300 marine mammals and seabirds, polluted and closed two pristine and popular local state beach campgrounds, and closed more than 130 square miles of fisheries. EDC led a coalition of fellow nonprofit organizations through the clean-up phase and found that none of the federal, state, or county follow-up “After-Action Reports” adequately identified weaknesses in emergency preparedness, oil spill response, community outreach and communications, and use of volunteers. “Emergency Preparedness: Learning Lessons from the Refugio Oil Spill” is EDC’s attempt to remedy this situation and ensure we are better prepared the next time disaster strikes.
As the terrible events our communities have experienced over the last month have demonstrated, disaster can strike at any time, with no warning. EDC’s project has the potential to benefit coordinated responses to disaster scenarios beyond oil spills, by ensuring that regardless of the emergency, there is better dissemination of information to the public and a markedly increased ability for the public to engage in any response and to volunteer. Through this project, EDC will work closely with multiple agencies to help update the County oil spill plan, the Coast Guard’s Area Contingency Plan, and a new Community Outreach Plan. In all cases, EDC staff also looks forward to helping identify a diverse group of community participants to help improve emergency preparedness.