There’s yet another significant development this week in the battle over whether a pipeline, which ruptured in Santa Barbara County, should be allowed to resume operations.
Sable Offshore Corporation has been working to restart the pipeline, which caused an oil spill of more than 140,000 gallons on the Gaviota Coast.
The State Fire Marshal’s office was reviewing the effort because it’s the agency that often regulates pipeline safety. However, with the agency still addressing unresolved concerns, a few weeks ago, Sable announced that it was seeking to have a federal agency take over the regulation of the pipeline.
On Wednesday, the U.S. Department of Transportation’s Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration notified Sable that it recognizes the pipeline as something it would regulate.
PHMSA states that it considers the Company’s pipeline to be an “active” pipeline according to its regulations. So, does the federal action clear the way for the pipeline to operate? It's still unclear.
There are also some unresolved lawsuits by environmental groups seeking to block the project.
This news came a day after Santa Barbara County Supervisors rejected Sable’s request for the county to approve the ownership change of the pipeline and other related oil facilities. Some counties issued permits for the facilities' operations that are tied to ownership.
Sable officials have stated that if they cannot obtain permission to restart the pipeline, they may resort to using ocean tankers to transport oil from their three offshore oil platforms to their processing facilities.
