Coast Guard says initial oil spill report not enough to act

By BRIAN MELLEY, MATTHEW BROWN and STEFANIE DAZIO
Associated Press

HUNTINGTON BEACH, Calif. (AP) — The Coast Guard says it did not investigate initial reports of an oil spill for nearly 12 hours because it didn’t have enough corroborating evidence and were hindered by darkness and a lack of technology. Rear Admiral Brian Penoyer told The Associated Press on Tuesday that the Coast Guard was alerted Friday night by a “good Samaritan” that there was a sheen on the water. It put out a broadcast to the many cargo and tanker ships anchored off the Los Angeles and Long Beach ports seeking more information, but did not receive any supporting reports. It didn’t investigate until daybreak and found the spill that could be up to 126,000 gallons of heavy crude.