The State Coast Commission issued a notice of violation to a company trying to repair, and restart the oil pipeline which ruptured on the Santa Barbara County coastline in 2015, causing a massive oil spill.
The Sable Offshore Corporation pipeline is in what’s considered the state’s Coastal Zone. State Coastal Commission officials say the company needs to apply for, and get a Coastal Development Permit to do the work. Officials say they were told by the company that it stopped doing work in the Coastal Zone last Friday.
If Sable gets necessary state and federal permits to restart the pipeline, it could set the stage for the reactivation of three offshore oil platforms which have been shuttered since the Refugio Oil Spill. The pipeline is needed to get the oil from the platforms to refineries. Sable is hoping to reactivate it this year.
Some environmental groups sounded the alarm about the repair work last week. They are hoping to see a permanent shutdown of the pipeline, and oil platforms, fearing the potential for another spill.
