On the 10th anniversary of the Refugio Oil Spill, environmental groups are hosting a paddle-out this weekend to protest efforts to restart the pipeline.
In 2015, a corroded pipeline spilled hundreds of thousands of gallons of crude oil into the ocean near Refugio State Beach, killing marine life and damaging habitats. Since the spill, the nearly 40-year-old pipeline has been shut down.
Now, its new owner, Sable Offshore Corp., is pushing to bring it back online.
Maureen Ellenberger with the Sierra Club, one of the local nonprofits organizing the paddle-out, said the goal is to rally public and political support to keep the pipeline shut down.
“We never thought that the pipeline would get started again because it was so old and corroded,” Ellenberger said. “So, here we are 10 years later, and they are trying to use that pipeline again once again, and so it's difficult to put into words how dangerous it is– how risky it is.”
Regulators, including the California Coastal Commission and the Central Coast Water Board, also accuse Sable of doing unauthorized work, polluting waterways and withholding key information.
Sable Offshore told KCBX in a written statement that the Coastal Commission’s authority is currently being litigated and noted that a judge recently denied the Commission’s request for a temporary restraining order to stop pipeline repair and maintenance work.
The paddle out event is on Sunday at 8:30 a.m.
