Rahul Somvanshi
A Santa Barbara Superior Court judge has stopped Sable Offshore from restarting its oil pipeline – the same one that caused the devastating 2015 Refugio Oil Spill. Judge Donna Geck issued a temporary restraining order (TRO) on Tuesday that prevents both Sable Offshore and the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) from taking any steps toward getting the pipeline running again.
This court action comes after environmental groups, including the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) and Center for Biological Diversity, filed lawsuits challenging the waivers granted to Sable by state regulators. The groups argue these waivers were issued without proper environmental reviews or public input.
“This is the second court order in as many weeks blocking progress on the restart project, which again shows why a full environmental review and an opportunity for public input are critical in this case,” said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel for the EDC. “Restarting this defective pipeline with no review and no way for the public to weigh in is a danger to our coast, our climate, and people on the Central Coast.”
The court has scheduled a hearing on July 18 to decide whether to extend the order with a preliminary injunction while the full lawsuit moves forward.
This TRO follows another recent court action where Judge Thomas Anderle issued a preliminary injunction blocking Sable’s work on its onshore pipeline. The California Coastal Commission has also issued three cease-and-desist orders against Sable for alleged unpermitted development activities, along with proposing fines between $15-18 million.
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Despite these legal challenges, Sable announced on May 19, 2025 – exactly 10 years after the Refugio spill – that it had already resumed oil production from Platform Harmony and was flowing oil to its Las Flores Canyon processing facility. The company had anticipated oil sales to begin by July 2025.
Steve Rusch, Sable’s Vice President of Environmental & Regulatory Affairs, claimed in court documents that the company could lose up to $2.5 million per day if the pipeline restart is delayed. “Furthermore, citizens of the State of California would suffer irreparable harm in the form of higher gasoline prices, lost jobs, lost tax revenues, lost royalty sharing, and increased regulatory uncertainty,” Rusch stated.
However, the OSFM indicated Sable’s restart plans were “insufficient for approval.” Jim Hosler, assistant deputy director for pipeline safety at OSFM, noted that the agency expects Sable to submit revised plans and that the review process would take several weeks, with additional inspections needed before any restart approval.
The 2015 Refugio Oil Spill released approximately 142,800 gallons of crude oil, damaging about 150 miles of coastline, killing hundreds of birds and marine mammals, and forcing beach and fishery closures. The spill resulted in a felony conviction for the pipeline’s former owner and hundreds of millions of dollars in restoration and compensation costs.
Environmental advocates are now calling on Governor Gavin Newsom to intervene. “What we want the governor to do is to make sure that his agencies are following the law and defending our state from another ecological and environmental and economic disaster,” said Alex Katz, EDC Executive Director.
