Santa Barbara County supervisors have denied Sable Offshore Corporation permission to operate several oil and gas facilities along its coast, including the pipeline involved in the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
The decision prevents Sable from operating the Santa Ynez Unit, the Las Flores Pipeline System and the Pacific Offshore Pipeline Company gas plant under county permits.
County officials cited what they described as a pattern of systemic noncompliance, including unauthorized work, environmental violations and repeated failures to follow regulatory orders. But a new federal filing suggests the company may be pursuing another path forward.
In a disclosure filed with the Securities and Exchange Commission, Sable said the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration, known as PHMSA, has determined that a pipeline connected to the Santa Ynez Unit is an interstate pipeline. That classification places the pipeline under federal safety oversight, rather than state regulatory authority.
“It disregards the voice of Californians and the concerns of this community about another environmental disaster on our coast,” said Alex Katz, the Executive Director of the Environmental Defense Center, a Santa Barbara-based nonprofit environmental law firm. “This is a company that has consistently ignored state regulators. It's being charged with felonies.”
The California Office of the State Fire Marshal said it has overseen repairs to the pipeline since the Refugio spill, following a court-ordered consent decree. In a statement, the agency said PHMSA is now asserting jurisdiction over the lines operated by Sable Offshore Corp. in Santa Barbara County and plans to assume regulatory authority going forward.
The Fire Marshal’s office said PHMSA’s position would eliminate the state agency’s role in overseeing pipeline safety and said the administration is reviewing the federal action and evaluating next steps.
PHMSA did not respond to KCBX’s request for comment. The California Coastal Commission also declined to comment.
