California Attorney General Files Lawsuit against Sable Offshore for Environmental Violations, Sable Counters with $347M Lawsuit

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a complaint Friday against Sable Offshore Corp. alleging the company repeatedly broke the law and discharged waste into streams, wetlands, and habitats while making unpermitted repairs to a broken oil pipeline on the Santa Barbara County coastline.

The Texas-based oil company is attempting to restart offshore platforms and other idled equipment in Santa Barbara County—including the same defective pipeline responsible for one of the worst oil spills in California history just 10 years ago, the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill.

The lawsuit accuses Sable of knowingly discharging potentially harmful materials into waters and habitats along the pipeline route, which crosses sensitive ecosystems in the Coastal Zone, runs through the Gaviota State Park and neighborhoods in the City of Buellton, goes under major rivers, and ends about 125 miles away in Kern County.

Sable is also being accused of disregarding notices of violation and failure to submit information as required by law to the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, according to the complaint.

“Rushing to meet a July 1, 2025 deadline imposed by the California Office of State Fire Marshal for restarting its onshore crude oil pipeline network, Sable intentionally ignored its obligations under California Water Code (Water Code) sections 13260, et seq. to apply to the Regional Water Board for permits before it proposes to discharge waste that could affect the water quality of the state,” the lawsuit states. “By avoiding the imposition of waste discharge requirements and associated regulatory oversight of its activities until after the work was completed, Sable placed profits over environmental protection in its rush to get oil on the market.”

The lawsuit goes on to state that Sable refused to obtain waste discharge requirements until the excavation work was completed so as to avoid delay and impede the Regional Water Board’s ability to provide input into the application of best management practices to address impacts to water quality.

“Indeed, prior to commencing work on the Repair Plan for Lines 324 and 325, Sable management misinformed the Regional Water Board by assuring staff that Sable had assessed how its excavation work could affect water quality. Sable’s response to the Section 13267 Order demonstrated Sable’s V.P. of Environmental Management was at best misinformed, incompetent and incorrect. At worst, Sable was simply bamboozling the Regional Water Board to meet a critical deadline. Either way, substantial penalties are warranted for Sable’s egregious conduct,” the lawsuit claims.

The Environmental Defense Center (EDC), which represents several local nonprofit groups, has been leading efforts to oppose Sable’s restart of oil and gas facilities formerly owned by ExxonMobil, including three 1980s-era offshore platforms, onshore processing stations, and the defective pipeline that ruptured in 2015, causing the Plains oil spill at Refugio State Beach.

Starting last year, Sable received multiple notices of violation related to its repair work from agencies including the State Department of Fish & Wildlife, the Regional Water Quality Control Board, and the California Coastal Commission. Sable also ignored cease-and-desist orders from the Coastal Commission, leading to a record $18 million fine and a third cease-and-desist order from the Commission in April.

However, following the Commission’s enforcement action, Sable immediately continued its work on the pipeline until a Superior Court judge issued an injunction halting repairs. According to the Commission, much of the work destroyed or disrupted sensitive habitats or species in the Coastal Zone.

In September, the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office filed 21 criminal charges against Sable, including five felony counts. The complaint accuses Sable of violating the law while excavating and making repairs to the severely corroded pipeline that ruptured and spilled onto Refugio State Beach in 2015.

Charges include five felony counts of knowingly discharging a pollutant into a waterway and sixteen misdemeanor counts of unlawfully obstructing a streambed and discharging materials harmful to wildlife.

On Monday, Sable published a legal update statement on its website stating a motion has been filed to amend the current lawsuit to quantify monetary damages in its claim against the California Coastal Commission.

Sable claims they complied with a November 2024 cease and desist order but in February 2025, they claimed to receive confirmation that the anomaly repair program on the Las Flores Pipeline System was authorized by existing permits issued by the County of Santa Barbara under its Local Coastal Program and delegated Coastal Act authority.

Sable seeks damages in excess of $347 million, in order to compensate Sable for the unlawful delay of, and damages to, the restart of the Las Flores Pipeline System, their motion states.

Additionally, on September 29, 2025, Sable filed a declaratory judgement action against the State of California in Kern County asking the court to confirm that certain provisions of SB 237 do not apply to the Las Flores Pipeline System.

“Sable continues to work diligently with the State of California to safely and responsibly resume petroleum transportation through the Las Flores Pipeline System in accordance with its Federal Consent Decree, which was entered into by several state and federal agencies. Continued delays in approving the restart plans for the Las Flores Pipeline System will prompt Sable to pursue the accelerated Offshore Storage and Treating Vessel strategy, which was utilized to process Santa Ynez Unit production in federal waters from 1981 – 1994. Over this time period, the Santa Ynez Unit produced over 160 million barrels of oil equivalent,” the company stated.