On June 22, 2005 an oil spill was discovered in a tributary to the Newhall Creek in Santa Clarita, CA. The spill was traced by Los Angeles County Fire to the Petro-Resouces, Inc. (PRI) USL Lease crude oil production field. The release was caused by a landslide that damaged a pipeline from a oil storage tank. Approximately 1000 gallons of heavy crude (asphalt-like) was released. The crude migrated from the break into creek bed at the bottom of a ravine (Zone 1). The ravine is in a coastal sage scrub environment. The oil followed the creek bed into a 48" diameter subterranean storm drain (Zone 2). The oil continued to migrate through the storm drain through an outfall into a riparian habitat that is a tributary to Newhall Creek Zone 3. No oil reached the creek. Newhall Creek drains into the Santa Clara River. The Santa Clara River is home to three Federally protected species.
The lease/land owner PRI has retained a cleanup contractor and is currently conducting removal operations.
An FOSC and START responded to the spill. A unified command was set up with the California Department of Fish and Game to manage the incident.
