{"id":12264,"date":"2026-07-21T05:35:32","date_gmt":"2026-07-21T00:35:32","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=12264"},"modified":"2026-07-21T05:35:32","modified_gmt":"2026-07-21T00:35:32","slug":"california-again-fights-trump-administration-over-santa-barbara-oil-pipeline","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/?p=12264","title":{"rendered":"California, again, fights Trump administration over Santa Barbara oil pipeline"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><script>\r\n  atOptions = {\r\n    'key' : '644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6',\r\n    'format' : 'iframe',\r\n    'height' : 90,\r\n    'width' : 728,\r\n    'params' : {}\r\n  };\r\n<\/script>\r\n<script src=\"https:\/\/www.highperformanceformat.com\/644b717812d811d6a1c1fc5b6ccd6fa6\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<br \/>\n<\/p>\n<div xmlns:default=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" data-element=\"story-body\" data-subscriber-content=\"\">\n<p>California has filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration over the <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/environment\/story\/2025-04-06\/texas-oil-firm-revive-drilling-santa-barbara\"> oil operation<\/a> off the Santa Barbara County coastline, asserting in a petition filed Monday that the federal government \u2014 again \u2014 improperly permitted continued pipeline use.<\/p>\n<p>The <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/oag.ca.gov\/news\/press-releases\/attorney-general-bonta-continues-protect-california%E2%80%99s-environment-and-public-0\" target=\"_blank\">new lawsuit<\/a>, filed in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, asks the court to strike down what it called an \u201cunlawful\u201d permit issued last month to Sable Offshore Corp from the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. The special permit waives the Texas-based company\u2019s compliance with a federal pipeline regulation and asserts that the federal agency has oversight of the oil venture. <\/p>\n<p>The filing from state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is the latest <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-01-23\/california-battle-offshore-oil-rigs-escalates\">in a string of challenges <\/a><a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-03-23\/trump-administration-illegally-ordered-restart-of-central-coast-oil-pipelines-state-lawsuit-says\">from California<\/a> to the company\u2019s restarting of three offshore oil rigs and related pipelines \u2014 which are proving to be a flashpoint between the state\u2019s commitment to environmental protection and the president\u2019s push for more U.S.-produced crude.<\/p>\n<p>\u201cCalifornia\u2019s coastline is not for sale to enrich the president\u2019s fossil fuel friends,\u201d Bonta said in a statement. \u201cNo matter how many times the administration attempts to help Sable evade state regulation, my office will see them in court at every illegal turn and continue to protect California\u2019s communities and environment.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Neither a spokesperson from the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration nor Sable responded to a request for comment. <\/p>\n<p>But in the special permit, administration  officials responded to more than 12,000 public comments, and said federal regulators had \u201cdetermined that the special permit maintains pipeline safety\u201d and that they continued to have \u201csole and exclusive authority\u201d over the pipelines. Bonta\u2019s office, along with state fire marshal, are also <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-01-23\/california-battle-offshore-oil-rigs-escalates\">challenging that oversight <\/a>in court, arguing the lines that run through Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties were incorrectly reclassified as intrastate pipelines. <\/p>\n<p>This spring, Sable <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-03-16\/sable-offshore-corp-begins-pumping-oil-off-california-coast\">restarted the use of its pipelines and offshore oil rigs <\/a>after the U.S. Department of Energy <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-03-07\/trump-administration-sets-stage-controversial-offshore-oil-plan\">invoked the Defense Production Act<\/a> to supersede state laws, following months of clashes between Sable and state regulators. Bonta has also <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2026-03-23\/trump-administration-illegally-ordered-restart-of-central-coast-oil-pipelines-state-lawsuit-says\">disputed that order<\/a>, arguing it was unconstitutional and unlawful. <\/p>\n<p>The pipelines being used are so contentious because they include infrastructure that had sat idle since 2015, when a corroded section of one of the pipelines burst, resulting in one of the state\u2019s worst oil spills. Sable maintains it has fully repaired the pipelines and that the company adheres to stringent safety precautions. <\/p>\n<p>Monday\u2019s filing is just the latest legal entanglement to involve Sable. The company has also been accused of several <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/california\/story\/2025-04-10\/texas-company-fined-millions-oil-california-coast\">California Coastal Act <\/a>violations, and is facing <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/www.latimes.com\/environment\/story\/2025-09-19\/sable-offshore-oil-company-criminal-charges\">state environmental law criminal charges, <\/a>a <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/carbajal.house.gov\/news\/documentsingle.aspx?DocumentID=3489\" target=\"_blank\">congressional investigation<\/a> of the company\u2019s practices and lawsuits related to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/finance.yahoo.com\/news\/houston-based-sable-offshore-receives-225010437.html?guccounter=1&amp;guce_referrer=aHR0cHM6Ly93d3cuZ29vZ2xlLmNvbS8&amp;guce_referrer_sig=AQAAAMxY6lHCHr6yijlxUJa2QfseL5aBcXPRdbzs1gNmbsvIfu3Ge-ixk-7buc5LJ8adXKlUmzjWihOaBLFC_ONIi3KP7Eg57tkXJg4JjGEhVseizLYfy17s4BcCI8tUhI8LJUSMyTdq-AwMed4liV2VONfZekyjeL3ThcDRXPm-8UDC\" target=\"_blank\">claims of insider trading<\/a>.<\/p>\n<p>Sable continues to deny wrongdoing. <\/p>\n<p>The rigs and pipelines remain in operation. As of mid-June, the company was producing an average of 43,000 barrels of oil a day from two of the three offshore oil platforms it has restarted, according to <a class=\"link\" href=\"https:\/\/d18rn0p25nwr6d.cloudfront.net\/CIK-0001831481\/48c4ab20-fa6e-4e72-a3f7-2164e6520f59.pdf\" target=\"_blank\">its latest federal financial statements<\/a>. <\/p>\n<\/p><\/div>\n<script async=\"async\" data-cfasync=\"false\" src=\"https:\/\/pl30214220.effectivecpmnetwork.com\/9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\/invoke.js\"><\/script>\r\n<div id=\"container-9ab3d4df8a7e1a6171e16ddbf732cc19\"><\/div>\r\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>California has filed another lawsuit against the Trump administration over the oil operation off the Santa Barbara County coastline, asserting in a petition filed Monday that the federal government \u2014 again \u2014 improperly permitted continued pipeline use. The new lawsuit, filed in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, asks the court to strike down&#8230;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":12265,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"fifu_image_url":"https:\/\/ca-times.brightspotcdn.com\/dims4\/default\/c7e60dc\/2147483647\/strip\/true\/crop\/4800x2520+0+321\/resize\/1200x630!\/quality\/75\/?url=https%3A%2F%2Fcalifornia-times-brightspot.s3.amazonaws.com%2Fa3%2F95%2Fce0b571d4e379fd0e953ce7f5bcf%2F1536882-me-sable-oil-gaviota-coast-024-als.jpg","fifu_image_alt":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[4],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-12264","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-news-hub"],"brizy_media":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=12264"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/12264\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/12265"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=12264"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=12264"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/usnews-14267fa.ingress-comporellon.ewp.live\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=12264"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}