Monterey County Health Department officials said contractors are on track to finish cleanup of an oil and wastewater spill at the San Ardo Oil Field.
The December 5 spill near the Salinas River released more than 5000 gallons of a mixture that was partially crude oil but mostly produced water — a byproduct of oil and gas extraction.
Marni Flagg, the Assistant Director of Environmental Health for Monterey County said that the faulty pipe that caused the spill will be replaced soon.
According to Hollin Kretzmann, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, Monterey County is home to thousands of active and inactive oil and gas wells. Kretzmann says those wells pose a risk for future spills.
“Until those are cleaned up, until we move away from fossil fuel production, the sad reality is that we're gonna be seeing more of these spills over time," Kretzmann said.
The San Ardo Oil Field is operated by California Resources Corporation. When asked for comment, the energy company told KCBX that they are “committed to maintaining the highest level of integrity in all of our operations.”
