Terrence Dressler, the chairman of the Air Pollution Control District Hearing Board, granted Sable an emissions exception on Thursday. He cited the company’s attempts to curtail emissions and said shutting down the platform could cause more emissions.
Terrence Dressler, the chairman of the Air Pollution Control District Hearing Board, granted Sable an emissions exception on Thursday. He cited the company’s attempts to curtail emissions, and said shutting down the platform could cause more emissions. Credit: Daniel Green / Noozhawk photo

After exceeding limits on how much gas it is allowed to release into the air, Sable Offshore Corp. will continue operating its offshore oil platform after the Air Pollution Control District Hearing Board granted an exemption on Thursday.

Sable had appeared before the board to request an exception after the company exceeded its quarterly limit following the reactivation of Platform Heritage.

The company had petitioned the board to allow it to continue operating despite exceeding the quarterly limit because shutting down the platform could cost it a reported $1.75 million per day.

The company initially asked for a 90-day exception, but the board settled on a shorter one that ends June 30.

Sable representative Patrice Surmeier told the board that the extra emissions were due to equipment malfunctions and reactivating the platform.

Sable recently restarted oil and gas production from the Santa Ynez Unit, which includes platforms, a processing facility and transportation pipelines to refineries. The facilities had been shut down since a Gaviota Coast oil pipeline ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill.

Surmeier said Sable has been out of compliance for 35 days. She said the company expects to be out of compliance for a total of 40 days, but will be ready by the beginning of its next quarter.

Sable’s next fiscal quarter begins July 1.

She added that the emissions, or flares, were not expected, despite expert reviews.

“The conditions experienced during restart were beyond reasonable expectations of the restart team,” Surmeier told the board. “Sable relied on industry, geological… and oil and gas engineer and experts’ assessment to determine that the platform was safe and appropriate to restart.”

Surmeier said $110 million in improvements were made to the platform to bring it into compliance.

Linda Krop, the chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, said the final decision to grant Sable Offshore Corp. an emissions exception was a disappointment. Krop questioned whether Sable could be in compliance by the end of June.
Linda Krop, the chief counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, said the final decision to grant Sable Offshore Corp. an emissions exception was a disappointment. Krop questioned whether Sable could be in compliance by the end of June. Credit: Daniel Green / Noozhawk photo

Local environmental groups opposed the exception, arguing that Sable could not be trusted to follow federal guidelines.

Katie Davis, from the Santa Barbara chapter of the Sierra Club, asked the board to deny the variance.

She argued that Sable has a history of not following the law, citing lawsuits filed against the company by state officials and criminal charges filed by the Santa Barbara County district attorney within the past year.

She also mentioned the $18 million fine issued to Sable by the California Coastal Commission over construction done in the Coastal Zone.

“It would be one thing if this was a lawful operator who had all their permits and had done everything according to the law,” Davis told the board. “This is not.”

Terrence Dressler, the chairman of the Air Pollution Control District hearing board, decided to grant Sable its exception.

He cited the company’s attempts to curtail emissions and said shutting down the platform could cause more emissions.

He also did not find that the excess emissions were an immediate nuisance to the public.

Linda Krop, the lead counsel for the Environmental Defense Center, said the center was extremely disappointed with the decision.

“We still don’t know what the health impacts are,” Krop said. “No one has told us exactly how much air pollution resulted (from this). No one has done an analysis of that. They say… that they’ll fix all the problems by July 1, but that’s pretty hard to believe. That’s less than a week away.”

Krop said the EDC is looking into whether it can challenge the decision.

— Noozhawk staff writer Daniel Green can be reached at dgreen@noozhawk.com.