Images of ravaged shorelines, tar-drenched wildlife and vast petroleum pools coating ocean waters continue to gush forth in the aftermath of the April 20 Gulf of Mexico oil spill. Though the repercussions of the largest marine oil spill in history are still being calculated, one positive has emerged. Residents of other coastal communities are asking questions and raising awareness about how to prevent and prepare for similar disasters in their own backyards. Robin Lewis, senior environmental scientist with the state’s Office of Oil Spill Prevention and Response (OSPR), said that although the consequences of the more than 200 million barrels already released into the Gulf are far-reaching, the California coastline would not be affected. He added that La Jolla residents should focus on threats closer to home instead. “Yes, there are potential sources of oil spills off the coast of San Diego County,” Lewis said. “Some are fairly significant, but most are relatively minor.” Lewis said his office has worked to develop organized responses known as area contingency plans, in the event of a spill, that are specifically tailored to regional needs and resources. The plans involve a specific chain of reaction plus management efforts for recruiting volunteers from the public. San Diego County’s sector of responsibility under the plan also includes the Catalina Islands, Arizona and Nevada, Lewis said. Although offshore drilling doesn’t occur in the San Diego region, Lewis said there are two significant sources of potential spills off the coastline — both of which involve the shipping process. “For several years, the oil industry has been using what are called ultra-large vessels, which carry two to three million barrels each, to transport oil from the Middle East to a location 20 or 30 miles off the shore of San Diego,” Lewis said. “There, they transfer oil from the ultra-large vessels to large vessels, which are smaller and can navigate into ports in Los Angeles and San Francisco.” Although these transactions have occurred regularly throughout the last decade without any mishaps, Lewis said, the potential for an incident with “very unpleasant consequences” does exist. “It doesn’t keep me or any of my cohorts awake at night, but you never know when that call might come,” Lewis said. Such a spill would potentially release 100,000 to 200,000 barrels of oil off the regional coastline. “However, you could make an argument for a super-catastrophic release of the entire contents of an ultra-large vessel,” Lewis said, referring to the two- and three-million barrel carriers. “After what we saw in the Gulf, maybe we need to think about that. It doesn’t change how we would respond, but the shoreline impacts would be more significant.” The response to such a spill has been refined and reconsidered to form an elaborate ladder of reaction, but the overall strategy can be summarized with one simple phrase: “All hands on deck,” Lewis said. Details include the rapid organization of a response management team using all state resources, including manpower and equipment, as well as Coast Guard involvement. Dispatch would begin within minutes and authorities would place an immediate request for additional resources able to arrive within hours or days, Lewis said. Other tactics would involve dispersants, mechanical recovery methods such as skimming, and burns, which entail corralling the oil with booms and burning it off — a tactic that has been used extensively in the Gulf. “The intent would be to try and prevent as much of that oil from reaching the shoreline as we possibly could,” Lewis said. Once the oil reaches the shoreline, the effects are always devastating for local wildlife, including birds, mammals and vegetation. But La Jolla is especially vulnerable, Lewis said. “La Jolla is famous for being a worst-case scenario for an oil spill,” Lewis said. “There’s so much rocky shoreline and sensitive habitat. Much of the area is not easily accessible, so it would be very difficult to clean up. We would do what we could, but some of it would simply be left for nature to deal with.” Birds — notably pelicans, gulls, cormorants, terns and shorebirds like sandpipers and plovers — would probably be the most adversely affected of all La Jolla’s diverse wildlife, Lewis said, because they rely on their feathers to keep warm. Sea otters, though not present in the local ecosystem, often suffer the same fate. “Hypothermia is a rapid killer of that wildlife,” he said. Oil near shores would also harm inter-tidal organisms, or those exposed during low tide and covered during high tide, such as algae and invertebrates. Despite the inevitable risks, Lewis expressed confidence in the response system currently in place. “We have a very specifically staffed, trained, financed and mandated program for spill response,” he said. “Nobody does it quite like California.” HOW YOU CAN HELP Jen Kovecses, a staff scientist at San Diego Coastkeeper, provides insight about how local residents can prevent and prepare for a spill. After witnessing firsthand the response to the 2007 Costco Busson oil spill in San Francisco, Jen Kovecses — who transferred from San Francisco Baykeeper to San Diego Coastkeeper earlier this year — speaks up about what La Jollans can do to keep their shorelines pristine. “There are two levels that local residents can act on,” Kovecses said. “There are day-to-day habits and behavior that can keep oil out of our water and reduce our dependency on oil. There are also some things we can do in the unfortunate event of a spill.” Runoff into streets and drainage systems carries oil into local water sources, she said. “We can make sure we don’t change our car’s oil in our driveways and address oil leaks quickly and appropriately,” Kovecses said. Supporting San Diego’s robust alternative-energy industry also helps mitigate oil-related disasters, Kovecses said. “Whatever ways we can incorporate those alternate-energy sources into our daily lives helps decrease oil dependency,” she said. “That, in turn, reduces the risk of catastrophic events related to oil.” After the 2007 spill in San Francisco, Kovecses said, public outcry and willingness to help prompted the state legislature and various agencies to create official means to incorporate volunteers into the response system. “There is now a draft volunteer management plan in California, including one for San Diego, that creates official avenues by which volunteers can help respond,” Kovecses said. Prevention methods include cleaning beaches on a regular basis. “When a spill happens and oil reaches the beach, it’s much more difficult to remove if there’s a lot of debris,” Kovecses said. Volunteer San Diego, a local organization that helps match individuals with opportunities to serve the community, has been involved with coordinating spontaneous volunteers in the event of an emergency like an oil spill. “If something happens, that’s a really great resource for residents to turn to and find out how they can help,” Kovecses said. Kovecses said the public can also contribute by donating to organizations like San Diego Coastkeeper and the National Audubon Society, which work to prevent and to respond to spills. “There are lots of ways to get involved,” Kovecses said. “It’s a matter of taking personal responsibility.” To learn more or to donate, visit www.sdcoastkeeper.org or www.audubon.org.