LOS ANGELES, Calif. (FOX26) — California Attorney General Rob Bonta has filed a lawsuit against the Trump Administration, challenging the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s (PHMSA) orders that assert exclusive jurisdiction over two California onshore oil pipelines, known as the Las Flores Pipelines.

The lawsuit, filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, contests PHMSA’s orders to federalize the pipelines, approve Sable Offshore Corp.’s Restart Plan, and issue an emergency permit for oil transport.

Bonta argues that these actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta held a news conference on Friday, Jan. 23, 2026, to announce a lawsuit he filed against the Trump administration. (Video: California Department of Justice)

“In its latest unlawful power grab, the Trump Administration is illegally claiming exclusive federal authority over two of California’s onshore pipelines,” Bonta said.

State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant emphasized the commitment to protecting California’s people and resources, stating, “Our team has worked diligently to uphold the terms of the consent decree and ensure the safety of lines CA 324 and CA 325.”

Bonta claims on December 17, 2025, the federal PHMSA illegally reclassified the Las Flores pipelines that run from Santa Barbara County to Kern County as “interstate.”

The reclassification purports to shift oversight over the pipelines from the State Fire Marshal to PHMSA even though the pipelines originate at Las Flores Canyon in Santa Barbara County.

Before December 17, 2025, PHMSA had classified these onshore pipelines as intrastate pipelines subject to State safety regulation and oversight.

On December 22, 2025, PHMSA issued an order approving Sable’s plan to restart oil production based on President Trump’s bogus “National Energy Emergency” Executive Order that Attorney General Bonta has previously challenged.

The onshore pipelines have been shut down for a decade since the 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill, when a corroded segment of one pipeline ruptured and released hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil near Santa Barbara.