Refugio Beach Oil Spill Left Lasting Scars That Warn Against More Offshore Drilling
Press Release Date: May 19, 2025
Location: MONTEREY, CALIF
Contact:
Ashley Blacow | email: ablacow@oceana.org | tel: 1.831.643.9220
May 19 marks the 10th anniversary of the Refugio Beach oil spill, when an onshore pipeline in Santa Barbara County servicing offshore oil platforms ruptured, spewing more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil. Much of the oil ran across Refugio Beach and into the ocean. Oil soiled approximately 1,500 acres of shoreline habitat and 2,200 acres of benthic subtidal and fish habitat. Hundreds of marine mammals and birds were killed in the disaster, and the spill resulted in an estimated $3.9 million loss in recreational value. Tar balls attributed to the spill eventually reached beaches in Los Angeles County.
Oceana Pacific Policy and Communications Manager, Ashley Blacow-Draeger, released the following statement in remembrance of the day:
“The Refugio Beach oil spill is a tragic reminder of the price we pay for offshore oil drilling. This spill significantly damaged California’s coastal economy, while killing wildlife, contaminating fisheries, fouling some of our most treasured beaches, closing state parks, and impacting people reliant on clean oceans. With numerous oil platforms queued for decommissioning, California has already begun transitioning away from offshore drilling as part of the state’s energy future. Any expansion of offshore drilling would be a significant step in the wrong direction. Healthy, clean oceans are the foundation for thriving marine ecosystems, coastal communities and economies. Most Californians oppose allowing more oil drilling off the California coast, and we applaud California state and Congressional leaders who are listening by standing up to protect our coast from new offshore drilling and the threat of restarting aging infrastructure without proper environmental review.”
Threats to our oceans from risky drilling and spilling have resurfaced at the state and federal levels including an effort to reopen the pipeline system that caused the Refugio oil spill.
In Santa Barbara County, Sable Offshore Corporation is attempting to restart the onshore pipeline that failed from corrosion in 2015, causing the Refugio Beach oil spill. The pipeline has been idle since the spill, along with three offshore platforms it services. The area impacted in the 2015 Refugio oil spill was the same area of ocean devastated by the 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill caused by a blowout on an offshore platform, which spewed three million gallons of oil — a disastrous event that spurred the modern-day environmental movement.
Last month, the Trump Administration’s Department of the Interior (DOI) initiated a new five-year offshore leasing plan, and it could include all of the U.S. coastline — including California — even restricted areas like national marine sanctuaries are on the table.
California state and congressional legislators, however, are standing up to protect the coast. At the state level, California Assemblymember Gregg Hart (D-Santa Barbara) introduced AB 1448 to further prevent expanded drilling off the state and tighten standards on re-starting idle infrastructure, which would apply to the pipeline that corroded causing the Refugio oil spill. Congressional leaders (including California Sen. Alex Padilla and Reps. Salud Carbajal, Jared Huffman, Mike Levin, and Jimmy Panetta) have introduced a package of bills to protect almost all of the U.S. coastline, including California, from expanded offshore oil drilling.
There are significant risks with offshore drilling today. More than 7,300 oil spills occurred in federal waters between 2010 and 2022 — an average of over one spill every day. Offshore oil and gas drilling causes harmful pollution at every phase of the process, including exploration, production, and transportation.
A poll released by Oceana in July 2024 revealed that two-thirds of American voters (64%) support their elected officials protecting U.S. coastlines from new offshore drilling, with similar support among registered voters in coastal states (66%).
For more information about Oceana’s campaign to prevent the expansion of offshore drilling in the United States, please click here.
Oceana is the largest international advocacy organization dedicated solely to ocean conservation. Oceana is rebuilding abundant and biodiverse oceans by winning science-based policies in countries that control one-quarter of the world’s wild fish catch. With more than 325 victories that stop overfishing, habitat destruction, oil and plastic pollution, and the killing of threatened species like turtles, whales, and sharks, Oceana’s campaigns are delivering results. A restored ocean means that 1 billion people can enjoy a healthy seafood meal every day, forever. Together, we can save the oceans and help feed the world. VisitOceana.org to learn more.
