Environmental Defense Center, State Legislators call for environmental review and public hearings on restart of failed oil pipeline
October 02, 2024Plans to restart a failed pipeline that caused one of the worst oil spills in recent California history must be put on hold while the state conducts environmental review and holds public hearings, according to state legislators and the Santa Barbara-based nonprofit Environmental Defense Center (EDC). In letters sent last Friday, EDC and 13 legislators representing coastal communities called on the State Fire Marshal to conduct environmental review as required by the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA) before signing off on the plan to restart the former Plains pipeline on the Gaviota Coast – the same pipeline that ruptured and caused the Refugio oil spill in 2015.
Read MoreEnvironmental Defense Center Welcomes New Board Members
August 22, 2024The Environmental Defense Center (EDC), one of the nation’s longest-running nonprofit environmental law firms working to protect the Central Coast and the Earth’s climate, today announced three new high profile board members in the areas of science, public health, environmental law. Joining EDC’s Board of Directors in recent months are Dr. Jai Ranganathan, an ecologist and data scientist; Dr. Van Do-Reynoso, the former head of the Santa Barbara County Public Health Department; and Antonette (Toni) Cordero, a leading civil rights and environmental justice attorney in California.
Read MoreEnvironmental Defense Center Stops Sable Offshore Oil Corporation from Concealing Oil Spill Plan
August 20, 2024A Superior Court judge ruled today that the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) is entitled to receive an oil company document outlining the dangers of restarting the former Plains pipeline – the same pipeline that caused the catastrophic Refugio oil spill in 2015. Sable Offshore, a Texas-based oil company attempting to restart the failed pipeline, sued the State of California and EDC in an attempt to prevent EDC from receiving a copy of the document. Today the Sacramento County Superior Court held a hearing on Sable’s request for a preliminary injunction. The Court ruled that there were no binding legal impediments to the State releasing the information to the public and denied the request.
Read MoreSable Offshore Sues the State and the Nonprofit Environmental Defense Center to Stop Public from Knowing About Risks of Oil Project
August 15, 2024Sable Offshore Corp., a Texas oil company attempting to restart a failed pipeline that caused one of worst oil spills in recent California history, has sued the State of California and a Santa Barbara-based environmental nonprofit to conceal information about the dangers of its plan. The Environmental Defense Center (EDC), one of the longest-running nonprofit environmental law firms in the nation, has been fighting to stop the restart of the pipeline and other equipment formerly owned by ExxonMobil, including three offshore drilling platforms shut down since the catastrophic 2015 Refugio spill.
Read MoreEnvironmental Defense Center Welcomes New Staff Members
July 01, 2024The Environmental Defense Center (EDC) – one of the nation’s longest-running nonprofit environmental law firms working to protect the California coast, natural resources, and the earth’s climate – has added three highly qualified new staff members to its team. Jeremy Frankel, a Goleta native, has joined the legal team as a Staff Attorney. Matt Campa, who was serving as a Legal Fellow with EDC, is starting in a new position: Staff Attorney/Environmental Justice Program Outreach Coordinator. And Brandi Webber, a long time Santa Barbara resident, has filled the position of Office Manager & Event Coordinator. The new hires support the organization’s long-term goals to defend nature and advance environmental justice on the Central Coast.
Read MoreEnvironmental Defense Center to Honor Hillary Hauser of Heal the Ocean with 2024 Environmental Hero Award
May 20, 2024The Environmental Defense Center – one of the nation’s longest-running nonprofit law firms working to protect California’s coast and the earth’s climate – today announced that its 2024 Environmental Hero award will be presented to Hillary Hauser at the organization’s annual event on Sunday, June 9th. Ms. Hauser is the founder and Executive Director of Santa Barbara nonprofit Heal the Ocean (HTO), which focuses on wastewater infrastructure (sewers and septic systems) and on protecting the marine environment from dumping and other forms of pollution. Ms. Hauser will accept the award at EDC’s annual fundraising event, Green & Blue: A Coastal Celebration, on June 9th at the Stow House in Goleta, CA. Prior recipients of the Environmental Hero award include Jane Fonda, Northern Chumash Tribal Council leader Violent Sage Walker, and Patagonia founder Yvon Chouinard.
Read MoreLegal Fight to Preserve Agricultural Heritage in Santa Ynez Valley Ends in Success
March 25, 2024The Environmental Defense Center (EDC) and Santa Barbara County Action Network (SBCAN) celebrated the withdrawal of an appeal by developers, leaving in place a Superior Court decision in favor of preserving agriculture in the Santa Ynez Valley. The multi-year effort by developers to subdivide the 4,000-acre historic Rancho La Laguna into 13 parcels could have resulted in construction of over a dozen high-end residential estates. The owners of Rancho La Laguna, including a Hollywood producer, sued the County in 2017 after the Board of Supervisors denied the subdivision. EDC, on behalf of SBCAN, intervened in the lawsuit to defend the County’s action. In 2023, a Santa Barbara Superior Court ruled against the developers in their lawsuit, upholding the County’s denial of Rancho La Laguna’s proposal to subdivide. The developers appealed the Superior Court’s decision, but they have now withdrawn the appeal, formally ending the litigation.
Read MoreExxonMobil Drops Court Bid to Truck Oil in Santa Barbara
February 16, 2024ExxonMobil’s dangerous proposal to truck massive amounts of oil along California highways is dead after the company dropped its lawsuit challenging Santa Barbara County’s denial of the plan. Exxon’s plan would have helped the company restart three drilling platforms off the Santa Barbara coast. The platforms, built in the 1980s, have been shut down since the disastrous 2015 Refugio oil spill that leaked more than 140,000 gallons of heavy crude on the Gaviota Coast and into the ocean. Exxon notified the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California late Thursday that the company is dismissing its lawsuit.
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