A federal order fast-tracked the restart of offshore oil operations along the Santa Barbara coast, reviving the same pipeline system responsible for the 2015 Plains All American spill at Santa Barbara's Refugio State Beach. Along with California's top state officials and other ocean advocates, Surfrider Foundation is fighting back.
The battle to protect the Santa Barbara coastline has entered an alarming new chapter.
On March 13, the Trump administration invoked the Cold War–era Defense Production Act, directing Sable Offshore Corp. to restore operations associated with its Santa Ynez offshore oil facilities and pipeline system.
The next day — March 14 — Sable announced it had resumed transporting oil through the Santa Ynez Pipeline System, moving crude from the Las Flores Canyon processing facility inland to Pentland Station. The company expects to begin commercial oil sales by April 1 at an anticipated production rate of about 50,000 barrels per day.
The move comes despite ongoing legal challenges and state regulatory disputes surrounding the project. For coastal communities and environmental advocates, the restart raises serious concerns — because the pipeline now carrying oil is the same system linked to one of California's most devastating coastal disasters.
Same Pipeline. Same Risk.
This is not a new pipeline with modern safeguards.
It is the same pipeline that ruptured in 2015 near Refugio State Beach, sending more than 140,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and contaminating miles of coastline. The spill killed hundreds of marine animals, closed fisheries, and fouled beaches across Santa Barbara County. The company operating the pipeline at the time was later criminally convicted and ultimately paid more than $800 million in penalties and settlements.
After purchasing the idled facilities, Sable spent two years attempting to restart operations — racking up an $18 million fine from the California Coastal Commission for unauthorized excavation, felony criminal charges from the Santa Barbara County District Attorney, and multiple court injunctions along the way. California's State Fire Marshal has indicated that additional repairs are still needed before the pipeline can safely operate. The company has yet to secure a renewed easement to run the pipeline through Gaviota State Park — where the previous authorization expired in 2016 — and has never obtained the required Coastal Development Permit.
Now, rather than resolving these disputes through California's regulatory process, the company is relying on a federal order asserting national energy priorities.
For coastal communities, the restart means the same pipeline system that devastated beaches and wildlife during the 2015 Plains All-American oil spill is once again transporting crude along the Santa Barbara coastline.
A Political Move That Won't Lower Your Gas Prices
Federal officials argue the restart is necessary to address energy supply risks during global market disruptions. But the numbers don't support the claim. The Santa Ynez Unit's anticipated output represents roughly 0.05% of total global oil production — a contribution so small that analysts describe it as a drop in the bucket with no meaningful impact on what drivers pay at the pump. Global fuel prices are driven by international supply chains and shipping routes like the Strait of Hormuz, not by a single aging pipeline on the California coast.
What this federal intervention does accomplish is overriding years of legitimate state regulatory scrutiny — and forcing back online an infrastructure system that California's own agencies say isn't ready.
California Is Pushing Back — Hard
The response from state officials has been swift.
Governor Newsom has vowed legal action to challenge federal attempts to override state pipeline oversight, and the California Department of Justice has already filed suits defending the state's authority to regulate coastal resources. Meanwhile, California State Parks has sent Sable a formal legal notice: the easement allowing the pipeline to cross Gaviota State Park expired in 2016, and the company has ten days to present a removal plan or face further action.
Surfrider has been in this fight every step of the way — from packing the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors hearing earlier this year to mobilizing community voices at every regulatory hearing and public comment period. That sustained pressure matters, and it continues.
What You Can Do Right Now
Stay informed. Follow updates from the Surfrider Santa Barbara Chapter and learn more about the Don't Enable Sable campaign.
Speak up. Contact state leaders and tell them to keep defending California's coastal protections and safety laws.
Spread the word. Share this story. In 2015, this community watched oil wash across Refugio State Beach, strand sea lions, and shutter fishing operations up and down the coast. That wasn't a hypothetical risk — it was documented reality. And the same pipeline is running again.
California's coast is worth defending. It always has been.
Surfrider Foundation's Santa Barbara Chapter has been a leading voice against the restart of the Santa Ynez Unit offshore oil platforms and the reactivation of the pipeline responsible for the 2015 All-American oil spill. Learn more about our Don't Enable Sable campaign and how to get involved.