California fights Trump administration, again, over Santa Barbara oil pipeline: The coast is 'not for sale'

Grace Toohey, Los Angeles Times on Jul 20, 2026

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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 — again — improperly permitted continued pipeline use.

The new lawsuit, filed in the U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals, asks the court to strike down what it called an "unlawful" 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's compliance with a federal pipeline regulation and asserts that the federal agency has oversight of the oil venture.

The filing from state Atty. Gen. Rob Bonta is the latest in a string of challenges from California to the company's restarting of three offshore oil rigs and related pipelines — which are proving to be a flashpoint between the state's commitment to environmental protection and the president's push for more U.S.-produced crude.

"California's coastline is not for sale to enrich the president's fossil fuel friends," Bonta said in a statement. "No 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's communities and environment."

Neither a spokesperson from the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration nor Sable responded to a request for comment.

But in the special permit, administration officials responded to more than 12,000 public comments, and said federal regulators had "determined that the special permit maintains pipeline safety" and that they continued to have "sole and exclusive authority" over the pipelines. Bonta's office, along with state fire marshal, are also challenging that oversight in court, arguing the lines that run through Santa Barbara, San Luis Obispo and Kern counties were incorrectly reclassified as intrastate pipelines.

This spring, Sable restarted the use of its pipelines and offshore oil rigs after the U.S. Department of Energy invoked the Defense Production Act to supersede state laws, following months of clashes between Sable and state regulators. Bonta has also disputed that order, arguing it was unconstitutional and unlawful.

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's worst oil spills. Sable maintains it has fully repaired the pipelines and that the company adheres to stringent safety precautions.

Monday's filing is just the latest legal entanglement to involve Sable. The company has also been accused of several California Coastal Act violations, and is facing state environmental law criminal charges, a congressional investigation of the company's practices and lawsuits related to claims of insider trading.

Sable continues to deny wrongdoing.

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 its latest federal financial statements.