Salud Ortiz Carbajal: “I rise this morning to recognize the second anniversary of the devastating Refugio oil spill off the Gaviota coast in my…”

“I rise this morning to recognize the second anniversary of the devastating Refugio oil spill off the Gaviota coast in my district. I remember all too well the horrifying sights and smells when over 100,000 barrels of crude oil poured from the Plains All American pipeline rupture. Our local funds were stretched as we mounted our cleanup effort that ended up costing over $100 million. The full extent of the damage to our local economy and environment in our region won't be fully known for years. I was pleased that President Obama signed into law last year the SAFE PIPES Act, directing the Department of Transportation's pipeline safety program, PHMSA, to increase the frequency of their pipeline monitoring on the California coast. We must ensure that PHMSA is fully funded to ensure that it can effectively monitor our oil pipelines and hopefully prevent future disasters like the Refugio Plains All American pipeline oil spill. ____________________”