| The Cal Poly pier at Avila
was originally a wooden pier built in 1914 by the Pacific
Coast Railway Co. The pier was formerly used to ship dry
goods until later in 1922 when it became the world’s
largest crude oil shipping port. Unocal purchased the pier
in 1941, just in time to supply the Pacific Fleet with oil
for World War II. The wooden pier was demolished by the
winter’s storms in 1983. Unocal spent $27 million
to rebuild the structure in 1984 and continued to operate
until the mid-1990s. Front Street, a section of the city
of Avila, was discovered to be contaminated with petroleum
hydrocarbon in 1988. |
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They believe the pollution increased between
the 1920s and 1970s from a pipeline leak connecting the Unocal
pier to a nearby tank farm and fuel storage area. As a result,
Unocal has been dedicated to help clean up the oil spill with
multiple projects. |
Unocal began their environmental cleanup efforts by removing
much of downtown Avila in efforts to eliminate the underground
oil contamination. The beach was closed off and the contaminated
soil was excavated and backfilled with clean soil. The last of
the cleanup efforts was the Front
Street Enhancement Project Project which began in 1999 and
was completed in 2001.
Additional efforts of Unocal included their purchase of the Avila
Beach water district’s state water supply and endorsing
activities to increase business in the area. On November 29, 2001,
Unocal donated their pier to California Polytechnic State University
in San Luis Obispo for the establishment of a marine science education
and research center. The university's College of Science and Mathematics
will operate the pier. Unocal has also endowed Cal Poly with $3.5
million for the maintenance and operation of the facility. With
the education provided , the pier is worth $18.5 million in value.
The pier is the only marine research center between Santa Barbara
and Monterey and the only one in the nation to provide undergraduates
with a marine education program.
News
Release regarding the donation
Latest
Update on the pier
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