The U.S. House of Representatives approved an amendment to the annual defense bill that would allow the federal government to seize land needed for Sable Offshore Corp. to continue its pipeline operations in Santa Barbara County.
The House approved an amendment to the National Defense Authorization Act on July 22 that would allow the Pentagon to use eminent domain to seize sections of public land around the Santa Ynez Unit.
The House approved the Hunt Amendment largely along party lines, with 215 votes in favor and 214 against. Rep. Wesley Hunt from Texas proposed the amendment.
Politico reported in July that Sable had been petitioning the government to condemn and seize pieces of state land, including a large portion of the state park, a 3-mile stretch off the coast, and a piece of undeveloped land north of Buellton.
The request reportedly came as Sable faced challenges to its pipeline restart.
Part of the pipeline runs through Gaviota State Park. Park officials demanded that Sable remove the pipeline after an easement expired, and the two sides were unable to reach a new agreement.
The Hunt Amendment is now in the Senate. If the Senate approves it, it would allow the government to seize pieces of land through which Sable’s pipeline runs.
The Santa Ynez Unit includes the pipeline, a processing facility, and three offshore oil platforms. One of the pipelines, CA-324, is the one that ruptured in 2015, leading to the Refugio Oil Spill.
Sable purchased the pipeline from ExxonMobil in 2024 and began rehabilitating it despite pushback from environmental groups who claimed the line was unsafe and cease-work orders from the California Coastal Commission.
Sable also faces fines from the California Coastal Commission and criminal charges issued by the Santa Barbara County District Attorney’s Office. The state of California also filed a lawsuit against the company.
The federal government directed Sable to restart production under the Defense Production Act in March, and the Texas-based company started pumping and transporting oil later that month.
Rep. Salud Carbajal, D-Santa Barbara, opposed the amendment, saying it was unnecessary. Carbajal stated that the United States s already the largest oil producer in the world, pumping 14 million barrels per day.
Carbajal noted that Hunt is from Houston, where Sable’s headquarters are located.
He also accused the Trump Administration of using the Defense Production Act to preempt state law. He claimed that the amendment would allow Sable to avoid accountability and lawsuits filed by the state of California.
“The Hunt amendment is not about boosting our country’s energy independence or national security — we are already the world’s largest oil producer,” Carbajal said in a statement to Noozhawk.
“This amendment’s true purpose is to boost Big Oil at the expense of Californians. The broader policy defense bill still faces several steps before becoming law, and I will continue working at each step of the way to remove this amendment and protect our coast from reckless oil exploitation.”
As of now, the amendment is stalled in the Senate. The Senate is still drafting its own version of the National Defense Authorization Act, which may not include the Hunt Amendment moving forward.
Correction Note: The previous article incorrectly stated that California is the largest producer of oil. The article was updated to state that the United States is the largest producter of oil in the world.
