Operations of the Santa Ynez pipeline system have been halted under a federal consent decree since an oil spill in 2015. Last month, the Trump administration ordered production to resume.
(CN) – A Santa Barbara Superior Court judge ruled Friday that an offshore oil company violated a court order when it restarted a pipeline system off the coast of California at the behest of the Trump administration.
Last month, US Energy Secretary Chris Wright directed Sable Offshore Corporation to restart the Santa Ynez pipeline system to “address the risks of supply disruptions caused by California policies that have left the region and US military forces dependent on foreign oil,” according to the department in a statement. press release. The system, which transports oil from three offshore platforms in the Santa Barbara Channel, has been shut down since the 2015 Refugio oil spill, when 142,800 gallons of crude oil spilled into the Pacific Ocean, killing at least 200 birds and 99 mammals and causing 7 miles of pollution.
Before Sable bought the pipelines in 2024, they were shut down under a federal consent decree that required the operator to obtain a state waiver before resuming operations. Since receiving the system, Sable has attempted to restart it without success. Last year, the company said one of its rigs had restarted drilling and was storing oil while it awaited approval to reopen pipelines. The Center for Biological Diversity and the Wistoyo Chumash Foundation then sought a preliminary injunction, which the court granted.
In March, Sable moved to dissolve or modify the preliminary injunction, arguing that the Trump administration had directed it to resume operations. Meanwhile, the plaintiffs filed a motion seeking to have Sable not held in contempt. On Friday, the judge ruled in favor of the conservation groups.
Department of Energy Order, has written Judge Donna Geck, “does not per se permit violations of other federal laws… Accordingly, in the present procedural standing of the mandatory requirements for Sable, Sable continues to be bound by the requirements of the Federal Consent Decree.”
“The court is deeply concerned about the non-implementation of the preliminary injunction,” the judge added. “At the same time, the court is again mindful of the suspension of many other processes related to the Las Flores pipeline.”
Geck set a hearing date of May 22 to determine whether Sable should be held in contempt.
“The court made the right call by upholding this order in the face of Trump officials’ shamefully authoritarian attempt to circumvent California laws and environmental protections,” Talia Nimmer, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a written statement. “Every second that this pipeline is in operation puts California’s iconic coast, its residents and its wildlife at risk of another devastating spill. Trump and his cronies will not stop trying to prop up oil industry profits, but we will continue to fight to protect California’s coastal communities and hold the Sable accountable.”
“This preliminary injunction is another reminder that Sable is not above the law,” added Mati Waiya, executive director for the Wistoyo Chumash Foundation, in the same press release. “The hasty resumption of operations of the Santa Ynez unit and the Las Flores Pipeline System is a serious threat to the lives of the Chumash, our sacred sites and our communities.
Sable Offshore did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the decision.
The state of California is also suing the Trump administration, challenging its order to resume oil drilling operations.
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