Judge Lets Sable Pump 38,000 Barrels a Day as California Loses Pipeline Oversight
Updated
Updated · Los Angeles Times · Aug 20
Judge Lets Sable Pump 38,000 Barrels a Day as California Loses Pipeline Oversight
3 articles · Updated · Los Angeles Times · Aug 20
Summary
A federal judge let Sable Offshore keep pumping oil off Santa Barbara County under a Trump emergency order, while shifting most pipeline oversight from California agencies to federal regulators.
Judge Stephen V. Wilson said the Defense Production Act order preempts conflicting state law, making the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration the main enforcer even though state requirements formally remain.
Wilson still fined Sable nearly $1.5 million for violating a restart consent decree, ordering biannual reporting to California and allowing the state to bring any noncompliance back to court.
California officials and environmental groups signaled likely appeals, arguing the ruling lets the federal government sidestep state environmental authority over a pipeline system tied to the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
The decision could strengthen broader Trump administration efforts to use national-security powers to override state rules in other energy projects; Sable reported $137 million in second-quarter revenue and sold about 38,000 barrels a day in July.