On September 27, 2023, United States District Court Judge Dolly Gee ruled in favor of the County of Santa Barbara and Environmental Non-profits, affirming the County Board of Supervisor’s denial of Exxon Mobil Corporation’s oil trucking plan. Surfrider Foundation, along with a strong coalition of environmental and community groups, challenged the proposal and successfully advocated for the County Board of Supervisors to deny the trucking plan in March 2022. However, Exxon quickly challenged this decision three days later with litigation in federal court. Therefore, Surfrider Foundation joined forces with Environmental Defense Center, Sierra Club, Get Oil Out!, and Santa Barbara County Action Network to enter the litigation defending the decision in court and prevent the restart of offshore oil drilling.
In 2015, the Plains All American Pipeline ruptured near Refugio State Beach eventually spilling over 140,000 gallons of crude oil on the Gaviota coastline and throughout Southern California coastal waters. This pipeline was used to transport oil from three offshore drilling platforms owned by Exxon. In the response to the pipeline shutdown, Exxon proposed to use trucks to carry the crude oil from the three offshore rigs.The company proposed to use tanker trucks to move the millions of gallons of oil per week until a new pipeline is in operation so it could restart the platforms. However, the risks of this proposal were determined to be too great, and the County Board of Supervisors, at the behest of many community advocates, rejected the proposal with a 3-2 vote based on the project’s significant and unavoidable harms to the environment and public safety.
Exxon’s court filing argued that the Board’s decision was not supported by substantial evidence, and thus the Board abused its discretion in denying the plan, ignoring the favorable review of the trucking plan in the Revised Final Environmental Impact Report. However, the Board’s rationale cited the risks to public safety and environmental resources due to significant collision rates on the proposed route. The Environmental Non-profits pointed out that the proposed mitigation measures are insufficient because they could not address the external factors such as reckless driving, road conditions or unexpected hazards that could lead to an accidental spill of crude oil from a truck collision that has the potential to impact sensitive biological, coastal and water resources. The federal court ultimately agreed with the County’s discretion in this action, stating “[s]ince each Supervisor voting to deny the application provided rational reasons for their vote, supported by evidence in the record, the Board did not abuse its discretion or act contrary to law when it denied Exxon’s Application.” The Order points out the Board’s consideration of the accident rates on relevant segments of Highway 101 and State Route 166 which were currently above state average and would generate even more risk.
“ExxonMobil’s plan to restart its offshore platforms and truck millions of gallons per week through Santa Barbara County is reckless, dangerous, and totally unwelcome by this community,” said Linda Krop, chief counsel of the Environmental Defense Center, which represents Surfrider. “Recent oil tanker truck accidents and offshore oil spills show just how dangerous this plan is. Our research revealed that there have been eight serious accidents involving tanker trucks along the proposed route in the last several years, resulting in deaths, oil spills, injuries, fires, and road closures. Today’s decision puts the safety of our communities, climate, and coastlines first.”