Authorities: Oil on the beach "natural seepage"

The oily mess of tarballs that washed up on Northern California beaches earlier this week is "natural seepage" from the ocean floor and not remnants from the Cosco Busan oil spill, the Coast Guard said Wednesday.

When oil started showing up on beaches from Pacifica to Monterey on Monday, speculation was it might be uncollected oil from the November 7, 2007 spill in San Francisco Bay. Only about 40% of the 53,000 of the bunker fuel oil that spilled has been recovered.

Full story in the San Francisco Chronicle

Remnants of Cosco Busan? Tarballs on beaches

Big patches of oil debris and tarballs are washing up on Northern California beaches this week. The first question on people's minds, is this the remnants of the Cosco Busan oil spill in San Francisco Bay on November 7, 2007?

From Ocean Beach in San Francisco south past San Mateo County beaches, the oily mess has cleanup crews out picking up the debris. Recent storms may be the culprit.

Story from the San Francisco Chronicle

Video report from ABC7-KGO-TV