The cost of cleaning up the largest oil spill in California in 25 years climbed to $92 million, said Patrick Hodgins of Plains All American Pipeline, according to the Associated Press.
As an estimated 101,000 gallons of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean after a pipeline at Refugio Beach ruptured, its operator was unable to contact workers near the break to get information the company needed to alert federal emergency officials, records released Wednesday revealed, reported Fox News.
Personnel needed the precise location of the May 19 spill to estimate its size before notifying the National Response Center. There was a severe lack of communication during the crisis as employees based in Bakersfield, Calif., were unable to reach company workers at the site near Santa Barbara since they were contending with "immediate demands and distractions," according to the released documents.
Hundreds of workers spent weeks excavating contaminated soil and scraping rocks after the spill.
Plains All American Pipeline has faced criticism for how long it took to relay information to the federal government, even though its internal planning documents stress the importance of notifying the government of a leak as quickly as possible.
Officials told reporters that the cleanup is entering its final phases.
Federal regulators are investigating the cause of the oil spill.
