(August 20, 2004) -- Roughly 100 gallons of oily bilge water somehow spilled along the Seal Beach coast about 4 p.m. Aug. 19 and flowed north toward LB, closing LB's beach from 72d Place to 55th Place.
LB's Dept. of Health and Human Services was alerted and the CA Dept. of Fish and Game was called to the scene to assess the situation, says a City Hall release.
"The spill was about 50% contained by 8:30 p.m. the same evening [Aug. 19]. The spill is presumed to have been causd by a barge's leaking valve, which may have opened and discharged into the ocean," the release says, adding that the Coast Guard oversaw the clean up, which was conducted by Ocean Blue, an environmental protection firm.
"The Coast Guard declared the clean-up complete as of 5:50 a.m. on Friday August 20...and the beach was reopened as of 6:00 a.m.