LOS ANGELES— Conservation groups have sued the Trump administration for taking over the regulation of the Las Flores Pipeline System and rushing this week to approve Sable Offshore Corp.’s pipeline restart plan and application for an “emergency” waiver from federal safety regulations.
The groups condemn the administration’s blatant attempt to circumvent California regulators and fast-track the restart of Santa Ynez Unit oil production using this defective pipeline system, which has been shut down since the massive 2015 Refugio State Beach oil spill.
“Sable and the Trump administration are running roughshod over transparency, environmental review, and pipeline safety requirements,” said Julie Teel Simmonds, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Offshore drilling is one of the most dangerous businesses there is for both people and wildlife, and no one should be cutting corners or playing games with California’s coast.”
The lawsuit was filed on Wednesday by the Center for Biological Diversity on behalf of itself and Wishtoyo Foundation and the Environmental Defense Center on behalf of itself and Get Oil Out!, Santa Barbara County Action Network, Sierra Club, and Santa Barbara Channelkeeper.
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration approved Sable Offshore Corp.’s restart plan on Dec. 22, after it reclassified the onshore pipelines that start in Santa Barbara County and terminate in Kern County as “interstate” on Dec. 17. This change was PHMSA’s attempt to move the pipeline from the State Fire Marshal’s oversight to the PHMSA’s.
On Tuesday PHMSA issued an emergency special permit to Sable, waiving compliance with certain federal pipeline safety regulations. The agency contended this action was justified under President Trump’s national energy emergency. The environmental groups are requesting the court to grant an emergency stay of PHMSA’s decisions.
These PHMSA approvals blatantly violated the Pipeline Safety Act and the National Environmental Policy Act in failing to follow the required public process, conduct the necessary environmental review, or make the required findings about pipeline safety or the so-called emergency, according to the lawsuit.
The onshore pipelines are part of what’s known collectively as the Santa Ynez Unit, which also includes offshore pipelines, three offshore platforms, and onshore processing facilities at Las Flores Canyon. The drilling unit had been shut down for 10 years since a corroded onshore pipeline failed, spilling what is believed to be more than 450,000 gallons of oil onto the coast.
The May 19, 2015, spill at Refugio State Beach near Santa Barbara ravaged 150 miles of the California coast. The oil polluted thousands of acres of shoreline and habitat and killed hundreds of animals, shutting down beaches and fisheries.
Sable purchased the SYU in 2024 and has generated numerous notices of violation, cease-and-desist orders, and criminal charges as it has worked to try to restart oil operations and resuscitate the failed onshore pipeline system. Sable announced in May that it had resumed oil production and was storing that oil in onshore tanks while it sought a full restart of the onshore pipelines.
The company has hit other roadblocks in its efforts to restart, including Santa Barbara County’s recent denial of its application for the transfer of Exxon’s permits for the onshore infrastructure, citing “systemic non-compliance” with the law and other reasons. Sable still needs other approvals from California agencies to restart the onshore pipelines, including a new easement across Gaviota State Park.
The Center and Wishtoyo Foundation sued the California Office of the State Fire Marshal in April 2025 for waiving safety rules for the pipeline. They also have active lawsuits against the U.S. Department of the Interior for failing to require updated development and production plans for oil drilling at the Santa Ynez Unit and for rubberstamping extension of the offshore leases despite shuttered production.
The lawsuit was filed in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
