An environmental group is appealing Santa Barbara County's decision to allow a Texas company to move forward with plans to restart the pipeline involved in the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
The Environmental Defense Center filed the appeal after the Planning Commission voted 3 to 1 to transfer permits for an oil operation on the Gaviota Coast to a new company, called Sable Offshore.
Linda Krop, chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, said Sable fails to meet the financial and regulatory standards required to operate the pipeline.
“We filed an appeal with the Board of Supervisors because the board can take a fresh look at this issue, and we're going to ask the board to deny the transfer because Sable cannot safely operate the pipeline or respond to an oil spill,” Krop said.
Krop cited recent violations by Sable, including unauthorized construction on the pipeline last month.
“This is about protecting our coasts from another massive oil spill; that's why we're here,” Krop said. “We know what happened in 2015, so this is not hypothetical– it's not speculative.”
Then owned by Plains All-American, the corroded pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach, spilling more than 100,000 gallons of oil into the ocean.
The EDC is now awaiting a public hearing, which is expected to take place in 2025.
