The company trying to restart the Santa Barbara County oil pipeline which ruptured in 2015 and caused a major spill is responding to a court ruling temporarily ordering work to stop on the project.
A Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order Tuesday in connection with Sable Offshore Corporation’s project.
The Environmental Defense Center filed suit against the State Fire Marshal’s Office, which oversees pipeline safety. A judge decided there were questions which needed to be answered, and issued a temporary restraining order to stop work on the restart effort until a July 18 hearing.
Wednesday, Sable issued a response to the ruling, saying it won’t stop preparations to restart the pipeline. It contends the restart effort is governed and permitted though a federal court ruling.
"The court decision does not impede Sable's preparations for restarting the flow of oil," said Steve Rush, Sable's Vice President of Environmental and Governmental Affairs. "Restart of the Las Flores Pipeline System is governed by a federal consent decree."
In a Securities and Exchange Commission filing, the company says it expects to start using the pipeline August 1.
In Wednesday's statement, it said it has completed, or will still complete a number of enhanced safety improvements.
Opponents contend that much more environmental and safety review is needed, and that restarting the system would set the stage for another environmental disaster. The 2015 accident at Refugio State Beach resulted in a 140,000 gallon oil spill. The pipeline had a different owner at the time. Cleanup took months, and cost upwards of $90 million.
