Refugio Oil Spill

The California Coastal Commission voted Thursday to impose fines up to $18.2 million dollars on Sable Offshore Corporation. The penalty is for unauthorized work along the Gaviota Coast, including repairs on the pipeline that spilled more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil near Santa Barbara.

A new lawsuit filed Wednesday challenges the Trump administration’s handling of offshore oil development at the Santa Ynez Unit– the site of the 2015 Refugio oil spill.

Sable Offshore could face a nearly $15 million fine for unauthorized pipeline work along the Gaviota Coast– including repairs on the pipeline that caused the 2015 Refugio oil spill.

The Board vote was split 2-2 on an appeal by environmental groups that challenged the transfer of permits to Sable Offshore, the company seeking to restart the pipeline.

Opposition to restarting the Refugio pipeline is growing ahead of a hearing this month challenging the transfer of permits needed to restart operations.

President Joe Biden today used his authority to ban new oil and gas drilling in most federal waters, including the Pacific and Atlantic coasts and the Gulf of Mexico. Just what will the president’s sweeping action mean for California’s Central Coast? To put it succinctly, not a lot.

The state Fire Marshal has signed off on a waiver that was a key hurdle in reopening the pipeline involved in the Refugio Oil Spill nine years ago. The waiver would allow Sable to bypass federal regulations on “cathodic protection,” which is supposed to prevent pipeline corrosion. Environmental groups and some local politicians are criticizing the decision.

The company responsible for the 2015 Refugio spill has agreed to a settlement that will pay the state tens-of-millions of dollars for cleanup costs.

The Environmental Defense Center filed the appeal after the Planning Commission voted to transfer permits for an oil operation on the Gaviota Coast to a new company, called Sable Offshore.

The California Coastal Commission is accusing the company that owns the Refugio Oil spill pipeline of doing unpermitted construction. The Coastal Commission first sent a violation letter in September, asking Sable Offshore Corp. to stop all work on the pipeline until it secured the proper coastal permits.