Environmental groups have sued federal agencies over their approval of Sable Offshore Corp. to restart a damaged pipeline in Santa Barbara County.
The Environmental Defense Center (EDC), the Center for Biological Diversity, and their clients filed an emergency lawsuit on December 24, 2025, to “halt the Trump administration’s rushed approval” to revive the oil pipeline system, according to a statement.
Filed in the Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, the lawsuit seeks a stay to prevent the immediate restart of the pipeline, which has been closed for a decade since it ruptured due to severe corrosion and caused the Refugio oil spill in May 2015, one of the largest oil spills in California history, the statement said.
The Refugio oil spill impacted 150 miles of the California coast and polluted thousands of acres of shoreline and habitat, killing hundreds of animals, the Center for Biological Diversity said in a statement.
This comes days after the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) approved Sable’s restart plan for the Las Flores Pipeline System Line CA-324 and Line CA-325. The PHMSA’s approval marked a significant step for Sable, after the company had been facing multiple setbacks in its attempt to revive production at the Santa Ynez Unit from state agencies.
The onshore pipelines are part of the Santa Ynez Unit, which includes offshore pipelines, three offshore platforms, and onshore processing facilities at the Las Flores Canyon, according to the Center for Biological Diversity’s statement.
Sable acquired the platforms, pipeline infrastructure, and an onshore processing facility from ExxonMobil as part of a previously reported agreement. All the assets have been lying idle since the oil spill in 2015.
PHMSA’s approval “blatantly ignores federal laws” mandating environmental review and public input before the agency can approve a restart or waive pipeline safety requirements, EDC and its partners said in the statement.
The approval also disregards a recent finding by the state Fire Marshal that states that the pipeline requires repairs before it can resume operations, the statement said.
PHMSA approved Sable’s request despite a Superior Court ruling in October 2025 that found Sable conducted large-scale digging and other work on the Gaviota coast to repair a defective pipeline without the required permits.
“Rushing to restart this failed pipeline without following basic federal safety laws and without even making the necessary repairs poses an immediate threat to lives, property, and the environment across a large part of our state,” EDC Chief Counsel Linda Krop said in the statement.
The Trump administration and Sable cannot “undermine California law and gamble with the safety” of the residents living along the route of the pipeline, Krop said.
Offshore drilling is “one of the most dangerous businesses” for both people and wildlife, and “no one should be cutting corners or playing games with California’s coast,” Julie Teel Simmonds, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement.
Sable secured the PHMSA’s approval at a time when the Trump administration has shown its eagerness to boost oil production in the country and has proposed to reopen oil drilling off the California coast, amid opposition from local city councils and environmentalists.
Advocates are accusing Sable and the Trump administration of rushing to operate the pipeline by the end of the year to bypass a new law passed in California that mandates securing a permit from the Coastal Commission before Sable can restart its old equipment on the coast, EDC said.
Earlier this month, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors denied Sable’s request to transfer county permits from ExxonMobil, primarily based on the company’s inability to meet the required operator capability finding.
In April 2025, the California Coastal Commission imposed an enforcement action and issued an $18-million fine against Sable for ignoring cease-and-desist orders and conducting unpermitted pipeline work.
EDC represents Get Oil Out!, Santa Barbara County Action Network, the Sierra Club, and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper.
The Center for Biological Diversity represented the Wishtoyo Foundation.
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Republicans love that big oil because the orange taco cankles mcckankles told them to (even though only though the rich make the profit )
GOO(D)!
Better to buy our oil from our enemies.
Hmmm. Then why, in your world, are we the biggest exported of fossil fuels?
Fron Grok:
Yeah, the US still imports a bunch of its oil even though we produce a ton domestically now. In recent years we get around forty to forty-five percent of our crude oil from abroad,
And pay huge amounts in subsidies for all fossil fuels, both foreign and domestic, which are obsolescent and toxic.
Please quit swallowing the oily propaganda unthinkingly, and posting that garbage here.
And mostly from Canada. Enemies? You con fools see the whole world as enemies, including you next door neighbors.
No, Iraq, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela – but any country we send a gob of hard earned American money to for their oil is our enemy. American bucks for American oil.
Pretty lame nonsense, as usual.
You would think that would help you to realize that we need to accelerate, rather than hinder, our transition to solar, wind, and microgrids.
But, your thoughts are controlled by con social media.