About 840 gallons of crude oil and processed water spilled sometime this morning at a site owned by Greka Energy, the oil company that’s been the target of state and county investigations for numerous environmental follies yet continues to operate. The company turned off the facility upon learning of the spill, and the leak has been stopped.
The Santa Barbara County Fire Department responded to the spill early on Monday morning, January 19, and discovered that a pipe flange failed. The oil and water spilled onto an agricultural field that’s part of the “Bradley Land Lease” on the 3600 block of Telephone Road, near Santa Maria. A hazmat unit is investigating while Greka employees are cleaning up the spill with a vacuum truck and unearthing the spoiled soil.