The California Coastal Commission has threatened to shut down Sable Offshore’s crude oil extraction operations in the Santa Barbara Channel, claiming the company restarted its pipeline without a required state permit.
“These violations can be resolved amicably,” the commission’s Executive Director, Kate Huckelbridge, wrote to Steve Rusch, Sable’s vice president of Regulatory & Environmental Affairs.
“However, if such a settlement is not possible, we will be forced to resolve this violation through the proposal of unilateral orders at a hearing.”
The commission’s 16-page letter to Sable threatened potential penalties against the offshore company “as long as the violation persists,” the Santa Barbara News-Press reported.
While environmentalists support the state’s intervention, federal officials had previously directed the restart of pipeline operations to help secure military readiness amid geopolitical tensions.
The California Post contacted Sable for comment.
The relationship between Sable and California has become increasingly complicated due to a jurisdictional clash over offshore operations in the Santa Barbara Channel, stemming from the catastrophic 2015 Refugio oil spill.
Tensions intensified when President Trump signed an executive order earlier this year allowing the Houston-based company to begin pumping oil through the Santa Barbara coastline. Since then, Sable has found itself at the center of lawsuits involving both California officials and the federal government.
California Governor Gavin Newsom is fighting to stop operations and remove part of Sable’s pipeline to prevent environmental disasters
The Coastal Commission previously hit Sable with an $18 million fine — the largest in the commission’s history — for allegedly ignoring cease-and-desist orders and conducting unpermitted repair work.
Sable is currently facing 21 criminal charges and multiple lawsuits from Santa Barbara County over alleged unpermitted excavations and other violations.
Climate activists have viewed the threat of additional cease-and-desist actions against Sable as a positive development.
“Once again, Sable is being put on notice that they are violating the law,” Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center (EDC), said in a statement.
“Even after felony criminal charges, multiple attorney general lawsuits, and a historic fine from the Coastal Commission, Sable is now ignoring a new state law requiring a permit for the restart of defunct oil facilities, including the company’s failed pipeline,” Krop said.
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