An environmental group is celebrating a court victory in efforts to make documents public about controversial plans to restart an oil pipeline which caused a massive spill in Santa Barbara County.
The battle involved the pipeline which ruptured on the Gaviota coastline in 2015, spilling about 140,000 gallons of crude oil.
Sable Offshore Corporation now owns the pipeline, and wants to repair and restart it.
The Environmental Defense Center has been fighting those efforts. It filed a public records request seeking more information about the state of the pipeline, and potential issues if restarted.
“The public has a right to know this information,” said Linda Crop, who is the EDC’s Chief Counsel.
Sable sought to block the records request. It contends making them public would compromise the pipeline’s security, and reveal trade secrets.
Krop says a Sacramento judge denied the company’s request.
In federal filings, Sable said it wants to reopen the pipeline later this year, setting the stage for three offshore oil platforms to resume operations.
