One of the pipelines Sable is attempting to restart is the same one that infamously ruptured and leaked 142,000 gallons of oil into the ocean and the coastline in the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill. In its attempts to repair it, the Houston-based oil company has been hit with a number of roadblocks in the form of lawsuits, fines, and permitting denials from the county and the state.<\/p>\n
With the state doing everything in its power to make Sable comply with its environmental and safety regulations \u2014 which Sable has treated more as an inconvenience than a hindrance, resulting in much regulatory pushback from state agencies such as the Coastal Commission<\/a> \u2014 Sable \u201cwent crying to Trump,\u201d in Bonta\u2019s words.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sable was seeking the approval it needed to restart production, which the state was so stubbornly withholding. On October 22, the State Fire Marshal decided that Sable\u2019s repair work on the corroded pipeline was not up to par<\/a>, pushing any dreams of a restart much, much further down the line.\u00a0<\/p>\n Sable turned to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) to take back jurisdiction of the pipeline and grant it the approval it needed to restart production from its Santa Ynez Unit \u2014 including three offshore platforms and onshore oil and gas plant Sable bought from ExxonMobil in 2024 \u2014 and pump it across the coast.\u00a0<\/p>\n To accomplish this, on December 17, PHMSA declared the onshore pipeline an interstate pipeline (meaning it crosses state boundaries), placing it under federal oversight, despite it never leaving the state of California \u2014 effectively negating PHMSA\u2019s 2015 determination that it was an intrastate pipeline under California authority. A few days later, it also granted Sable an emergency start-up permit, despite the protests of environmental groups<\/a>.\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n This declaration, bolstered by the administration\u2019s \u201cbogus National Energy Emergency,\u201d Bonta argued, was far more than stretching the truth. It was a \u201cfallacy,\u201d a blatant disregard of the truth<\/a> \u2014 saying the pipeline crossed state lines when that is not the case \u2014 to benefit the oil industry, in the pocket of which Trump is comfortably perched, Bonta charged. And that was categorically unlawful, he said.<\/p>\n Bonta said the lawsuit is not about whether oil should be able to run through the pipelines or not, but about who gets to decide \u2014 the president or the state of California. He wants to get the \u201cright\u201d jurisdiction in place, he said. And he\u2019s moving forward with the lawsuit today to get ahead of federal approvals \u2014 the \u201csham\u201d emergency permit, Bonta called it \u2014 that would allow Sable to restart production under Trump\u2019s not-so-watchful eye.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe answer is clear, the state of California gets to decide,\u201d Bonta said. \u201cThe disastrous spill, the Refugio Oil Spill in 2015, was caused by corroded pipes from one of the Las Flores pipelines. Now, over a decade later, Sable doesn\u2019t like how the process is going, or the lawsuits that are piled up from local and state authorities \u2026 Sable said \u2018Jump,\u2019 and Trump said, \u2018How high.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n Filed in the United States Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, Bonta\u2019s petition for review challenges PHMSA\u201ds attempt to evade state regulation and usurp California\u2019s authority, his office said. The lawsuit<\/a>, filed on behalf of the Office of the State Fire Marshal, argues that PHMSA\u2019s orders violate the Administrative Procedure Act and asks that the Court overturn PHMSA\u2019s \u201cillegal\u201d orders. It marks Bonta\u2019s 55th lawsuit against the Trump administration.<\/p>\n \u201cThe Office of the State Fire Marshal is committed to its mission to protect the people, property, and natural resources of California,\u201d said State Fire Marshal Daniel Berlant in a statement. \u201cOur team has worked diligently to uphold the terms of the consent decree and ensure the safety of lines CA 324 and CA 325,\u201d also known as the Las Flores oil pipelines.\u00a0<\/p>\n Santa Barbara County\u2019s assemblymember, Gregg Hart, commended the Attorney General for his action to \u201cprotect our coastline, our communities, and our economy.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cThe State of California will not allow Sable \u2014 nor the Trump administration \u2014 to come to California, ignore our laws, and expect to get away with it,\u201d Hart said.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe people of the Central Coast have been clear: we do not want another oil spill,\u201d Hart said. \u201cThis legal action is about accountability, safety, and making sure that decisions affecting our coast are made through a public process \u2014 not behind closed doors in Washington.\u201d<\/p>\n The Independent reached out to Sable Offshore Corp. for comment but did not receive a response by press time. The story will be updated when a response is issued.<\/p>\n
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