Press Room

Environmental Defense Center Opposes Trump Administration’s Plan to Open up Santa Barbara Channel to New Oil Drilling

Today, the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) announced its strong opposition to the U.S. Department of Interior’s newly released Oil and Gas Leasing Draft Proposed Program (“the Draft Program”) that includes federal waters off the entire West Coast including fragile regions such as the Santa Barbara Channel. This plan threatens California’s coastal resources, local economies, wildlife, commercial and recreational fishing, and the well-being of our communities.  This is the first time the federal government has opened the California coast to new lease sales since 1984, when Ronald Reagan was president. The Draft Program includes 34 lease sales in 21 of the 27 Outer Continental Shelf Planning Areas—amounting to roughly 1.27 billion acres. Of those, 6 lease sales would occur in the Pacific, with 3 of them in the Southern California Planning Area in 2027, 2029 and 2030.

Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors Rejects Permits for Sable Offshore Corp.

The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors today rejected the transfer of permits to Sable Offshore Corp., the embattled oil company seeking to restart a huge oil and gas operation formerly owned by ExxonMobil on the Central Coast of California. The Board of Supervisors voted 4-1 to continue today’s hearing to December 16 and directed staff to prepare findings to support denial of Sable’s application.  The vote is another blow for Sable, which in recent months has been hit by felony criminal charges, a state Attorney General lawsuit, and losses in court. Under County law, Sable cannot operate its onshore facilities without the permits.

Court rules that Sable Offshore Corp. did extensive work on corroded pipeline without required permits

A Texas oil company attempting to restart a defunct oil and gas operation near Santa Barbara lost again in court today, when a Superior Court judge ruled that the company did large-scale digging and other work on the coast to repair a defective pipeline without the required permits. Earlier this year, the California Coastal Commission sued Sable Offshore Corp. for openly ignoring multiple cease-and-desist orders and making extensive, unpermitted repairs to the pipeline—the same one that ruptured in 2015, causing the massive Plains oil spill at Refugio State Beach. The Coastal Commission said much of Sable’s unpermitted work destroyed or disrupted sensitive habitats and species in the area.

Environmental Defense Center statement on CA Attorney General lawsuit against Sable Offshore Corp.

On Friday, October 3, the California Attorney General’s office filed a complaint against Sable Offshore Corp. alleging that 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 California Coast.

The Texas-based Sable 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.

EDC statement on Santa Barbara District Attorney filing criminal charges against Sable Offshore Corp.

Santa Barbara, CA—The Environmental Defense Center (EDC) today released the below statement on criminal charges filed this week against Sable Offshore Corp., the Texas company attempting to restart a massive oil and gas operation on California’s Central Coast.

“At this point it should be abundantly clear that Sable is not a company we can trust to operate safely, responsibly, or even legally in California,” said EDC Chief Counsel Linda Krop. “No matter how Sable spins it, these are serious charges, and they raise big questions about the company’s integrity and its ability to operate risky facilities without causing more harm to our state. In its short history, Sable has openly ignored cease-and-desist orders from the Coastal Commission, racked up multiple notices of violation from other agencies, and according to the felony charges filed this week, knowingly poisoned waterways here in Santa Barbara County. The company is still asking state agencies for approvals to restart this failed pipeline and operate it through Gaviota State Park. However, the criminal charges make it even more clear that the state must conduct a full environmental review and allow for a transparent, public process before considering whether this project should move forward.” 

Federal Court rejects Sable Offshore Corp.’s demand for permits to restart oil & gas operation on the Central Coast

Court Allows Environmental Groups to Join Santa Barbara County in Legal Fight with Sable and Exxon

On July 25, a federal court allowed the Environmental Defense Center and its clients to intervene in a lawsuit against Santa Barbara County filed by fossil fuel companies trying to restart a huge oil and gas operation on the Gaviota Coast. Sable Offshore Corp., ExxonMobil, and their affiliates are challenging the County’s decision to NOT transfer permits to Sable to operate Exxon’s old oil and gas facilities after a tie vote by the Board of Supervisors in February.

Court injunction finds State Fire Marshal likely violated state law in approving Sable Offshore Corp.’s request to waive pipeline safety requirements

A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge today issued a preliminary injunction further complicating plans for the restart of a defective oil pipeline that failed catastrophically in 2015, causing one of the worst oil spill disasters in California history. The injunction essentially extends a temporary restraining order granted by the judge in June. It does not block Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration from approving restart of the pipeline, but it requires Sable Offshore Corp. (Sable), the pipeline’s owner, to come back to the court after receiving all outstanding approvals and then gives environmental groups a 10-day period to seek further relief from the court.

Court grants temporary restraining order delaying restart of failed oil pipeline

A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge today issued a temporary restraining order blocking Governor Gavin Newsom’s administration from approving the restart of a failed oil pipeline on California’s Central Coast – the same one that ruptured in 2015 and caused one of the worst oil spills in state history. Under Newsom, the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) is poised to allow a Texas oil company to restart the pipeline after waiving normal safety requirements and without conducting any environmental review or public process as required by state and federal law.

EDC Statement on 10th Anniversary of Plains Oil Spill & the Ongoing Fight Against the Restart of Oil Drilling on the Gaviota Coast

Environmental Defense Center Files Lawsuit Challenging State Waivers for Defective Oil Pipeline

A coalition of environmental groups today filed a lawsuit challenging state waivers granted to a Texas oil company for the restart of a defective pipeline on the California Coast – the same pipeline that ruptured near Refugio Beach in 2015 and caused one of the worst oil spills in California history.   The lawsuit filed in Santa Barbara County challenges the decision by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to grant waivers allowing the pipeline to operate without effective protection against corrosion, which was the exact cause of the 2015 spill. The lawsuit states that OSFM approved the waivers at the end of last year without properly considering the risks of operating the corrosion-prone pipeline and without conducting an environmental review or allowing for public input as required by state and federal law.

California Coastal Commission Fines Sable Offshore $18 Million for Illegal Coastal Development—One of the Largest Penalties in Agency History

The California Coastal Commission issued an $18 million fine and other major penalties against Sable Offshore Corp. for extensive and unpermitted work that harmed habitats and waters on California’s coastline.  Sable, a new Texas oil company, has been rushing to complete repairs on an old, severely damaged pipeline, in violation of cease and desist orders from the Commission and numerous notices of violation from the Commission and other state agencies. At Thursday’s hearing, the Commission also voted to levy a Cease and Desist Order that will remain in effect until Sable obtains approvals for both past and future activities related to its onshore and offshore pipelines and a Restoration Order to address the significant impacts of the unpermitted work.

Environmental, business, and community leaders call on Newsom administration to stop dangerous offshore oil project

entral Coast environmental groups, elected officials, business leaders, and high-profile activists including Jane Fonda, Julia Louis-Dreyfus, and Patagonia CEO Ryan Gellert held a press conference on Thursday, March 13, to demand that state agencies step up to protect the California coast and communities from another disastrous oil spill. Speakers at the press conference hosted by the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) called out Sable Offshore Corp., a new Texas oil company, for its plans to restart oil and gas drilling off the Gaviota Coast using the same defective pipeline that caused the Refugio oil spill 10 years ago. Speakers also demanded that the state conduct a full environmental review of the project and allow for public input as required by law. So far, the project has moved forward with zero environmental review or formal public input.

Environmental Groups Applaud County Board Decision to NOT Transfer Permits for Dangerous Oil Project

Environmental groups including the Environmental Defense Center and its clients applauded a Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors decision on Tuesday to NOT approve the transfer of permits to operate defective and highly dangerous oil and gas equipment on the Gaviota Coast. Sable Offshore Corp., a new Texas oil company, applied to take over permits for equipment formerly owned by ExxonMobil, including two huge fossil fuel processing stations and a failed pipeline that broke 10 years ago, causing one of the largest oil spills in California history. Hundreds of people including many UCSB students attended the hearing on Tuesday wearing “Don’t Enable Sable” stickers to oppose the transfer. Speakers pointed out that Sable has not demonstrated the financial ability to deal with another spill, cannot be trusted to operate the equipment responsibly, and cannot comply with the permit conditions requiring effective corrosion protection for the pipeline – all of which are conditions for transfer of the permits.

The Board’s 2-2 vote means the company’s application was not approved and the transfer of permits will not happen. Without permits, Sable cannot operate the facilities unless it works out an agreement with Exxon – plus the company still needs approvals from multiple state agencies.

California Allows Dangerous Santa Barbara Oil Project to Move Forward

Plans to restart the failed Plains pipeline – the same one that caused a massive oil spill on the Central Coast almost ten years ago – got a major push forward this week from the California State Fire Marshal. The Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) approved a waiver allowing the pipeline to operate without effective protection against corrosion, according to a filing by Sable, the Texas oil company attempting to restart a massive drilling and processing operation in Santa Barbara County formerly owned by ExxonMobil. The decision, made without public input or environmental review, is a critical step forward for the company’s plans to restart the three offshore platforms, two onshore processing facilities, and other equipment known as the Santa Ynez Unit on the Gaviota Coast.