Legislators and Enviros Call for Fresh Environmental Review of Plans to Restart Offshore Oil Drilling in Santa Barbara County

The Office of the State Fire Marshal is under fire from the California State Legislature and Santa Barbara–based Environmental Defense Center over Sable Offshore’s plans to restart the oil pipelines that ruptured in the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill. On September 27, members of the legislature and the Environmental Defense Center (EDC) wrote two separate letters to the Fire Marshal calling for increased transparency, public participation, and an updated environmental impact report.

Sable is seeking a waiver from the Fire Marshal that would allow them to restart the corroded pipeline without “cathodic protection” — a safety measure that prevents corrosion. According to a failure investigation report prepared by the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) in the aftermath of the Refugio spill, the pipelines at issue do not have effective cathodic protection, which caused the spill. Members of the State Legislature and the Environmental Defense Center argue that, because of this 2016 discovery, the Fire Marshal is bound by California law to conduct a new environmental review for the project.

Santa Barbara County prepared a draft environmental impact report (EIR) in 2022, when Sable had planned to construct an entirely new pipeline; instead, Sable is repairing a series of anomalies in the existing pipeline. The county has since entered a settlement agreement with Sable preempting the county from having any jurisdiction over Sable’s restart plans, stopping certification of the draft EIR in its tracks. This report stated that restarting the oil pipelines could produce a coastal spill twice the size of the Refugio Spill, possibly once every year. Before this, the most recent certified EIR was completed in 1985, when the pipelines were first constructed.

“The [Fire Marshal] is a public agency working on behalf of the people of California, specifically charged with ‘safeguard[ing] our communities’ from the inherent hazards in oil and gas transportation,” read the State Legislature’s letter. “We are concerned that the people of California will be left holding the bag for the exorbitant clean-up costs.”

Senator Monique Limón and Assemblymember Gregg Hart, both of whom represent Santa Barbara in the Legislature, signed the letter. Eleven other legislators representing areas up and down the California coast, including San Francisco, San Luis Obispo, Ventura, and Santa Monica, joined them.

In a separate September 27 letter to the Fire Marshal, the EDC echoed the State Legislature’s claims and provided legal arguments to back up their request for an updated environmental impact report. They also referred to multiple previous letters calling for a public hearing before the Fire Marshal makes a decision on Sable’s cathodic waiver request.

“The circumstances surrounding the operation of these pipelines have substantially changed since they were initially evaluated and installed,” wrote Linda Krop, chief counsel for the EDC. “All we are asking for is a voice in a decision that will directly and substantially impact our community and the future of the Central Coast.”