Local students and community activists have announced a Thursday evening vigil in downtown Santa Barbara to protest the restart of the Santa Ynez Pipeline System by Sable Offshore Corp., an action the company says it undertook under a federal order.
Organizers say the “Resist and Rise — A Community Vigil to Protect Our Coast from Sable Pipeline” will begin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday, March 19, at the Stearns Wharf Dolphin Fountain at Cabrillo Boulevard and State Street.
The event is being organized by UCSB and local high school students alongside the Society of Fearless Grandmothers and is billed as a nonviolent gathering. Organizers say participants are expected to follow de-escalation practices, act lawfully, and not bring weapons.
Organizers say the event is intended to “stand together to support each other and protect our living ocean” and to register opposition to the pipeline restart.
The vigil follows Sable’s announcement that it resumed transporting oil on Saturday, March 14, through the long-idled Santa Ynez Pipeline System (SYPS) from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station. The company said it acted “at the direction of” U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright, who invoked authorities under the Defense Production Act (DPA) after an executive order signed by President Donald Trump on March 13. Sable said federal safety regulators were present as flows resumed and described the SYPS as federally regulated and approved to operate.
According to Sable, the DPA order requires all federally produced barrels from the offshore Santa Ynez Unit (SYU) to flow through the pipeline, up to its stated capacity of 200,000 barrels per day. The company said it completed onshore anomaly repairs and hydrotested all segments as of May 2025, had about 540,000 barrels of processed crude in storage at Las Flores prior to restart, and is operating under an emergency special permit from the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration.
Sable said production is currently coming from Platform Harmony, with additional production from Platforms Harmony and Heritage expected this month and Platform Hondo in June, and it plans first sales by April 1 at an expected gross oil rate of 50,000 barrels per day.
“Sable Offshore is putting California consumers first by increasing domestic supply of crude oil into the California market by approximately 17%,” Chairman and CEO Jim Flores said in a statement.
State Parks denies easement, orders removal of line through Gaviota
Also on Saturday, the California Department of Parks and Recreation denied Sable’s application for a new easement to operate a roughly four-mile segment of pipeline through Gaviota State Park and ordered the company to immediately remove the line, citing an easement that expired in 2016.
In a letter to Sable and Pacific Pipeline Company, the agency said the project is “incompatible” with the park and an “excessive drain on state resources,” and that it is ceasing easement negotiations and related environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act.
State Parks demanded a response within 10 days outlining removal plans and said it would consider withdrawing the letter if Sable confirmed in writing by noon Monday, March 16, that it had not restarted Line 325 through the park and would not do so without required state approvals, a new easement, or a final court ruling that such approvals are unnecessary.
Court keeps existing injunction in place
At a Tuesday, March 17 hearing in an ongoing lawsuit over pipeline safety waivers, a Santa Barbara County judge kept a previously issued preliminary injunction in place and set further proceedings for April.
The injunction requires Sable to notify the court once it obtains approvals to restart and to wait 10 court days before doing so. The Center for Biological Diversity said Sable restarted the pipeline on Saturday without meeting those requirements.
“It’s a victory for California that the judge kept this injunction in place, but it’s outrageous Sable has been pushing oil through these pipelines in defiance of this clear court order,” said Talia Nimmer, an attorney with the group.
Sable has separately filed a federal lawsuit seeking declaratory relief to confirm its rights under the DPA order, naming the director of California State Parks as defendant.
Background
The SYU—three offshore platforms, associated offshore lines, and onshore facilities—has been largely offline since May 2015, when a corroded onshore pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach, releasing an estimated 450,000 gallons of oil that fouled about 150 miles of coastline, killed marine wildlife, and forced beach and fishery closures.
Texas-based Sable Offshore purchased the assets from ExxonMobil in 2024 and has sought to restart operations. The effort has drawn regulatory scrutiny and litigation, including challenges to corrosion-related safety waivers and permitting decisions.
Environmental groups say the California State Fire Marshal informed Sable late last year that additional repairs were required before a safe restart; the Coastal Commission has cited the company for unlawful work in sensitive habitat; and state and local prosecutors have filed suits over alleged unlawful discharges into waterways.
This is a developing story.
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GOO!
Resist the oily oligarchs.
I know at least one founding member of Gaviota Coast Conservancy, the organization formed to deal with the drilling on the coast, who voted FOR Trump. Regret can’t undo the damage.
It’s about time!
Get your selfies HERE….!! Sellllll-fies HERE!! Don’t forget to post on social media HEEEERRREE…..Selfies…
If everyone stops driving flying using plastic and rubber, I will protest with you!
KEVIN – since you oppose wind and solar power, you better not be at the beach this weekend or growing any flowers or enjoying the changes in temperature or sailing or just being outside in general.
See how stupid that sounds? Find a new “argument.”
Nah