Refugio oil spill

Summary

The Refugio oil spill occurred on May 19, 2015 along the Gaviota Coast in Santa Barbara County, California, United States. It contaminated one of the most biologically diverse areas of the West Coast of the United States with 142,800 U.S. gallons of crude oil. The corroded pipeline that caused the spill closed for almost 11 years, resulting in financial impacts to the county estimated as high as $74 million since it and a related pipeline remained out of service for three years. The cost of the cleanup was estimated by the company to be $96 million with overall expenses including expected legal claims and potential settlements to be around $257 million.