Trucks Will Move Oil Stored After Santa Barbara Oil Spill

LOS ANGELES (AP) — Officials in California's Santa Barbara County have endorsed Exxon Mobil Corp.'s plan to use trucks to move more than 17 million gallons of oil stranded in storage after a pipeline break in May.

The county says it approved the proposal Monday because of risks associated with long-term storage.

Eight months ago, the ruptured pipeline created the largest coastal oil spill in California in 25 years, fouling beaches near Santa Barbara and spreading goo as far as 100 miles away.

The pipeline is shut indefinitely. The company will run up to 30 truck trips a day for as long as six months to move the remaining crude from two tanks.

Environmentalists opposed the plan, warning that transporting the oil was more dangerous than leaving it where it is.

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