Thursday was a big day in the battle over an oil company’s efforts to repair and restart the Santa Barbara County oil pipeline, which ruptured in 2015, causing a massive oil spill.
A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge denied the State Coastal Commission’s request for a temporary restraining order to halt Sable Offshore Corporation’s work on the project.
The Commission contends that new permits are needed. Sable argues that the work is covered by existing permits issued by Santa Barbara County and the Commission. The Coastal Commission has issued multiple cease-and-desist orders against Sable and last week hit the company with what could be an $18 million fine.
Meanwhile, the Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board voted to ask the State Attorney General’s Office to look at legal action against Sable over wastewater discharge concerns.
A staff report claims the company failed to get permits for waste discharges into waterways related to the work and has also failed to provide full details on work being performed.
Sable is trying to repair the pipeline so it can restart three idle offshore oil platforms off the Santa Barbara County coast. Opponents contend restarting the decades-old facilities would set the stage for another environmental disaster.
