CAMBRIA -- A deep sea operation is officially underway off the California Coast. A highly skilled dive team is working to determine if a sunken, World War II oil tanker is an environmental hazard.
State officials say Tuesday marked a new era in terms of prevention.
After more than two years of planning, crews hit the water to find out if the S.S. Montebello has oil on board, after all these years.
"This is a very special place," said Senator Sam Blakeslee.
On Tuesday, Senator Blakeslee saw his plan come to life.
A few years back, he formed a task force to figure out if the sunken oil tanker posed a threat to the Central Coast.
"We want to be sure we are behaving proactively to understand the threats and if there is a threat to deal with it before there's any possible leak," said Senator Blakeslee.
The S.S. Montebello has been under 900 feet of water off the coast of Cambria, since World War II.
It was hit by a Japanese torpedo.
The wreck may have up to three million gallons of crude oil on board.
"The fear is not to do anything and then have a catastrophic release obviously because that would impact a great deal of people along the Central Coast," said Capt. Chris Gaff, a representative with the Department of Fish and Game's Office of Spill Prevention and Response.
A Seattle-based dive company has set out to find answers.
The crew of 16 is using cutting edge equipment to investigate.
The first step was sending its underwater robot down to the Montebello to take a good look at it and identify any safety hazards.
Next, the robot will clean the hull and take measurements of it.
Finally, using nuclear technology, the ship's compartments will be testing for any remaining oil.
"Based on that detected level of neutrons we can tell if it's oil or water," said Kerry Walsh, the project manager.
State officials say there is currently no evidence that oil has ever leaked from the ship.
If they do find some on board, they will finger print the oil, determine its properties and then devise a plan of action.
