World enews: California beaches ‘closed for months’ by oil spill as lawmaker pleads with Biden for help

The Biden administration has been asked to declare a “major disaster” in parts of California after an underground pipeline leaked thousands of gallons of oil over the state’s coastline.

Beaches are expected to be closed for months as work begins on the cleanup of more than 130,000 gallons of oil across a 13-square-mile area.

Republican congresswoman Michelle Steel, whose district includes Huntington Beach, on Sunday wrote to Joe Biden requesting the disaster declaration for Orange County, which would commit federal assistance to the recovery efforts.

The leak was reported to have started three miles off the coast of Newport Beach. It spread north past Huntington Beach and the Talbert Marsh wetland to reach the shoreline of Long Beach, about 25 miles from Los Angeles.

While the US Coast Guard said 3,150 gallons of oil had been recovered, the areas beaches are expected to be closed for months as tens of thousands more gallons of oil remain.

They have deployed 5,360 feet of a floating barrier to help contain the spread of the oil across the surface of the Pacific Ocean.

“It is imperative that the Federal Government assist in recovery efforts. Constituents who live along the shoreline are already reporting oil on the beach and strong odours,” Ms Steel wrote to Mr Biden.

“Officials are already responding to protect sea life. Dead fish and birds are already being reported on the beaches and shorelines. I have serious concerns about the environmental impacts of the spill.”