Crews conduct tar ball tests on Southern California beaches for Santa Barbara

GOLETA, Calif. (AP) – A California beach fouled by oil will reopen to swimmers and campers two months after a pipeline ruptured and spewed thousands of gallons of crude along the coast.

Refugio State Beach was cleared by California State Parks to reopen next Friday, July 17, 2015 at noon. Nonstate beaches will remain closed for further testing.

The Federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety is investigating what caused the break, and state prosecutors have been considering potential charges against Plains All American Pipeline, the company that operates the conduit that ruptured, according to the Associated Press.

Hard-to-access areas will still be off limits as cleanup continues, but officials said the work would not affect beach-goers.

AVIRIS-NG red-green-blue (visible) aerial image of the Refugio Incident oil spill, showing oil on the water and on nearby Santa Barbara Channel beaches.

The spill zone lies at the edge of a national marine sanctuary and state-designated underwater preserve teeming with whales, dolphins, sea lions, some 60 species of sea birds and more than 500 species of fish. Cleanup costs have exceeded $92 million.

The beach has been closed since the Plains All-American pipeline oil spill back on May 19.

The spill dumped as much as 2,400 barrels (101,000 gallons or 382,000 liters) of crude onto a pristine stretch of the Santa Barbara coastline and into the Pacific, leaving slicks that stretched over nine miles (14 km) along the coast and closing the two state beaches.

The U.S. House Energy and Commerce Committee opened an investigation last month and asked Plains for detailed information on maintenance of the line.

Plains has maintained that the response was not delayed.