EDC Statement on 10th Anniversary of Plains Oil Spill & the Ongoing Fight Against the Restart of Oil Drilling on the Gaviota Coast
May 19, 2025
Santa Barbara, CA – On the 10th anniversary of the devastating Plains Oil Spill, Sable Offshore announced it had restarted offshore oil production in the Santa Barbara Channel. Sable is also attempting to restart the same failed pipeline that caused the 2015 spill. The Environmental Defense Center (EDC) issued the following statement about Sable’s restart plans:
Announcing the restart of oil production on the 10th anniversary of the Plains Oil Spill that devastated 150 miles of coastline shows serious disregard for the people and environment of California. EDC, our clients, and partners are still fighting from every angle to prevent the failed pipeline from ever restarting. We are continuing our lawsuit against the state Fire Marshal to require a full environmental review and a public hearing before the pipeline can begin operating, and we are exploring all other legal options.
Yesterday, more than 100 community members gathered for a paddle out at Refugio Beach, the site of the spill 10 years ago, demonstrating that our community stands united in the effort to protect our coast from another ecological disaster.
To be clear, this is happening on Governor Newsom’s watch. At critical points, his administration has allowed this project to move forward in the face of overwhelming local and state-wide opposition. Most recently, State Parks gave Sable an exemption to allow excavating and other work inside the park despite the California Coastal Commission’s lawsuit against Sable to stop this work from happening. California should be leading on the climate crisis, not facilitating a high-risk fossil fuel project in our own state that would increase greenhouse gas emissions by millions of tons every year.
– Alex Katz, Executive Director
