The list of steps that Sable Offshore Corporation needs to take to restart the oil pipeline that was shut down after the 2015 Refugio oil spill is getting shorter.
“The big picture is that Sable is trying to restart this pipeline system that ruptured in 2015,” said Julie Teel Simmonds, the Center for Biological Diversity’s senior counsel. “They’re moving fast and they’re pushing hard, and it seems like that process is accelerating right now.”
In a February filing with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, Sable pointed to its progress, highlighting Feb. 12 letters Santa Barbara County sent to Sable and the California Coastal Commission pushing back on a November cease-and-desist order for what the commission called “unpermitted development in the coastal zone.” Sable’s filing also pointed to a Feb. 11 U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA) notice that it did not object to the state fire marshal’s December waiver of certain corrosion protection regulations for the pipeline.
Sable responded to a request for comment with a copy of the filing.
PHMSA’s notice came as a surprise to the Center for Biological Diversity, which was told that federal regulators would need more time to review the fire marshal’s waiver, Simmonds told the Sun. But that was in December, under the Biden administration.
“But when the administration changed, apparently that changed as well,” she said. “That was disappointing and, I suppose, not surprising.”
The waiver releases the pipeline from complying with what’s called “cathodic protection” regulations aimed at preventing corrosion like rust that can lead to leaks. It prevents corrosion on pipeline exteriors by applying electric current to the metal, according to PHMSA, which states that “as long as the current is sufficient, corrosion is prevented, or at least mitigated and held in check.”
The state waiver requires that Sable comply with “over 60 conditions,” PHMSA’s notice states, including testing before the pipeline goes into operation and a yearly reassessment thereafter, wall thickness measurements, and crack detection in-line inspections tools.
Simmonds said the state waiver means that the pipeline is already so corroded that cathodic protection measures didn’t work. The pipeline’s 2015 oil spill was caused by Plains All American Pipeline’s failure to address external corrosion on the pipeline, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
“Since they know they can’t have that, … instead of corrosion prevention, it just looks like they’re going to be doing more monitoring and hopefully catch [corrosion],” Simmonds said. “That’s where we disagree with Cal Fire and Sable’s conclusion that these state waivers are as safe as or safer than a cathodic protection system in protecting public safety and the environment.”
She said the pipeline was poorly designed from the start and is still vulnerable to corrosion.
“It’s a much riskier plan than having a pipeline that’s properly designed and properly functions as intended,” Simmonds said. “I just think there’s a lot more room for error.”
On Valentine’s Day, Sable resumed its work along the Gaviota coast without Coastal Commission approval, Simmonds said, adding that the company “potentially felt emboldened” by the county’s letter responding to the commission’s cease-and-desist order. The county said that Sable’s work was authorized under previously issued permits.
“Planning and Development has concluded that the ‘anomaly repair work’ … is authorized by the existing permits and was analyzed in the prior environmental impact report/environmental impact statement,” county Planning and Development Department Director Lisa Plowman wrote to the Coastal Commission.
Santa Barbara County referred the Sun to the state fire marshal for answers to questions about any future restart. Several other state agencies have oversight when it comes to a pipeline restart, including the Coastal Commission, the Department of Fish and Wildlife, and Central Coast Regional Water Quality Control Board, among others.
The county added that on Feb. 25, the Board of Supervisors will hear an appeal to the Planning Commission’s November decision to approve a transfer of ownership for the Santa Ynez Unit’s three offshore platforms, its offshore and onshore pipelines, and other affiliated facilities from Exxon to Sable.
The state fire marshal has a webpage dedicated to questions about the Sable pipelines and includes a restart plan, which is currently under review.
This article appears in Feb 20 – Mar 2, 2025.