The oil wells of Platform Holly, located two miles offshore Goleta, have been successfully plugged and abandoned. Coincidentally, I have observed a dramatic reduction in the amount of tar in the water and on the beach in places like Devereux Point, the surf spot Sands, and Haskells Beach, near the Bacara Resort ever since the wells of Platform Holly have been shut-in circa mid-2015.
Platform Holly was completed and began producing oil in 1966. I began wandering up to the Goleta area in search of surf in 1970. Starting in 1973 and until 1977, I began surfing and otherwise enjoying the beaches of Goleta regularly while I lived in Isla Vista during my matriculation at UCSB.
The beaches of Goleta at that time were notorious for the copious amounts of tar on the beach and in the water. You could not surf in the water or walk on the beach then without accumulating beach tar on your feet and the deck of your surfboard. In Isla Vista, the floors of everyone’s showers and tubs were black. It was in our hair and on our clothes. We each had our favorite method for removing it from our feet: Some preferred gasoline and lighter fluid and while others preferred olive oil, mayonnaise, and peanut butter.