I'm pleased to announce great news regarding South County traffic relief! To that end, I have convened a key stakeholder working group to create local transportation solutions and discuss congestion relief projects.

This collaborative effort resulted in a Cooperative Agreement, which was approved by County of Orange Board of Supervisors, Orange County Transportation Authority (OCTA) Board of Directors, and the San Clemente City Council to support the following projects as recommended by the South County Traffic Relief Effort study, which concluded in 2020:

• Construction of the Los Patrones Parkway Extension as a non-tolled county arterial from its current terminus at Cow Camp Road to Avenida La Pata in San Clemente
• OCTA and Caltrans efforts to complete high-occupancy vehicle (HOV) lane improvements on Interstate 5 between Avenida Pico and the San Diego County Line
• The Ortega Highway (SR-74) Widening Project in San Juan Capistrano from two lanes to four lanes between Calle Entradero and the city/county border

These projects will address near-term congestion and safety concerns to identify a broad range of longer-term improvement recommendations for all modes of transportation, including streets, transit, freeways and bikeways, as OCTA is conducting the South Orange County Multimodal Transportation Study. This study is a collaborative and strategic transportation study which is currently underway and will address mobility needs beyond the year 2045.

Click here for additional facts about the Cooperative Agreement.

Click here for a status update on the three projects.

Meeting with the Incident Command Post on response efforts.

Over the weekend, I had the opportunity to visit the Incident Command Post and observe first-hand the response efforts to the oil spill that occurred off our coast earlier this month. My staff and I remain actively engaged in response efforts and will continue to keep you updated of any new developments.

Below is the latest update from Unified Command:

Of the approximately 25,000 gallons of oil leaked into the ocean, approximately 5,544 gallons has been recovered along with 13.6 barrels of tar balls and approximately 474,965 lbs. of oily sand/debris.

No free-floating oil has been observed in the water since October 5. Containment boom, which is designed to restrict the flow of free-floating oil, significantly protected sensitive areas where it was deployed early in the response, is now being removed. On-water oil-recovery operations have ceased, and all public beaches in Orange County and San Diego County are open.

Overflights have also been suspended pending any major changes in the response. The Unified Command has made the decision to use smaller, more environmentally friendly drones to conduct assessments of sensitive sanctuaries further reducing environmental impacts.

Tar ball collection along our coast.

Tar Ball Collection

Tar ball collection on Orange County beaches has decreased and recovered tar balls are increasingly smaller in size and more dispersed. According to the federal on-scene coordinator, following a surge in the initial response capacity based on a worst-case scenario, response teams are now working to transition to a long-term plan for tar ball recovery.

As clean-up continues, the public may see small amounts of residual tar balls wash ashore. Please do not attempt to remove the tar balls. Report any you find to SoCalSpillResponse.com/tarballs.

Fisheries remain closed along our coast.

Fisheries  

Fisheries remain closed while onshore seafood sampling is conducted to evaluate fisheries in the areas affected by the spill. Fisheries will be reopened by the California Department of Fish and Wildlife director upon the recommendation of the State Office of Environmental Health Hazard Assessment. For updates on fishery closures, visit SoCalSpillResponse.com/fisheries-closure.

To report oiled wildlife, call 1-877-823-6926.

Wildlife

To date, 32 birds have been captured, 24 have been cleaned, and 8 have been rehabilitated and released. To report oiled wildlife, please call 1-877-823-6926.

To file a boat decontamination claim, call 1-866-985-8366.

Boat Decontamination 

A third boat decontamination site, in addition to the two sites at Huntington Beach and Newport Beach, has been established in Long Beach and is operational. Community members impacted by the oil spill who need to file a claim can call 1-866-985-8366.

Water and sediment sampling continues.

Public Health Assessment 

The public health assessment unit of the Unified Command continues to conduct water and sediment sampling with no abnormal results. Air monitoring and sampling will cease, as air samples over multiple days show all spill-related readings are within common background levels and below health-based thresholds.

Orange County Information

Contracted cleanup teams are working throughout the Orange County coastline. Specific beach openings and closing statuses are managed by local governments. Please visit ocgov.com/news for the latest information regarding beach status in Orange County.

The cause of the spill remains under investigation. I will continue to keep you updated of any new developments. Official updates from Unified Command can be found at SoCalspillResponse.com.