A judge has given environmental groups a little more breathing room in the fight over efforts to restart a Santa Barbara County oil pipeline, which caused a massive spill in 2015.
Sable Offshore Corporation has been working to repair and reactivate the pipeline, which ruptured in 2015 on the Gaviota Coast, causing a 140,000-gallon oil spill.
A number of community groups contend the restart effort hasn’t received proper environmental and public review.
In April, a coalition of groups filed a lawsuit against the state Fire Marshal’s office, which oversees pipeline safety. The suit argued that the office violated state law by overlooking a requirement that the pipeline have an anti-corrosion system.
A judge agreed and granted a temporary restraining order.
On Friday, the judge issued another ruling, adding a preliminary injunction. It says if the state approves the restart, environmental groups will have 10 days after that to seek further court relief.
If Sable is able to restart the pipeline, it would allow the full resumption of operations of three oil platforms off the Santa Barbara County coast. In its financial statement, the company has repeatedly said it expects to be operational before the end of the year.
Environmentalists contend that reactivating the decades-old platforms and pipelines would set the stage for another major oil spill.
Sable issued a statement saying they don't think Friday's ruling will disrupt their restart efforts.
