Excerpted from CalMatters
By Emily Hoeven
At nearly 10 pm on Monday night, Gov. Gavin Newsom declared a state of emergency in Orange County due to the region’s largest oil spill in three decades.
The announcement came more than two days after authorities began sounding the alarm on an environmental disaster that soiled the shores of Huntington Beach, infiltrated a critical bird habitat and forced the cancellation of the third installment of the famed Pacific Airshow.
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Newsom’s declaration also came hours after Min and two fellow Democrats, Assemblymember Cottie Petrie-Norris of Laguna Beach and state Sen. Tom Umberg of Orange County, asked him to declare a state of emergency for Orange County to “cut red tape and help the state quickly mobilize all available resources.” They also asked him to visit the county to survey the damage from the oil spill and discuss the emergency response with local leaders.