seepage

The accident took place after a slab of concrete covering seepage on the roof slipped and fell off.

The samples are more characteristic of “freshly produced” oil typical of natural seepage, according to officials.

March 11, 2024An earlier version of this article stated that a Coast Guard official said the oil spill was caused by natural seepage from the ocean floor off Huntington Beach.

“We don’t know what caused the natural seepage to be so much.”

“It could be natural seepage, it could have been a discharge. We’re not sure.”