A Santa Barbara Superior Court judge issued a temporary restraining order against the Office of the State Fire Marshal on Tuesday, as environmental groups look to prevent the restart of the pipeline that ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill.
Judge Donna Geck sided with environmental groups after the groups requested a stay or temporary restraining order to prevent the pipeline’s owner, Sable Offshore Corp., from restarting operations with the pipeline.
In the decision, Geck ruled that the Office of the State Fire Marshal, which oversees oil pipelines, and Sable could not take any actions toward restarting the pipelines that route through Santa Barbara County. A joint lawsuit was filed by the Environmental Defense Center and the Center for Biological Diversity in May.
Geck scheduled a follow-up hearing to discuss a preliminary injunction in the case for July 18.
In the request for a temporary restraining order filed Monday, the EDC claimed that the state fire marshal’s office has allowed Sable to move forward without following proper reviews and procedures.
This is the second recent court action regarding Sable’s planned restart. Superior Court Judge Thomas Anderle issued a preliminary injunction last week to block Sable’s work on its onshore pipeline.
“This is the second court order in as many weeks blocking progress on the restart project, which again shows why a full environmental review and an opportunity for public input are critical in this case,” said Linda Krop, Chief Counsel for the EDC, in a statement Tuesday.
“Restarting this defective pipeline with no review and no way for the public to weigh in is a danger to our coast, our climate, and people on the Central Coast. At the very least, Governor Newsom should demand that his agencies follow the law and do everything possible to prevent another ecological and economic disaster in our state.”
In a declaration to the court, the Office of the State Fire Marshal stated it does not judge a project until plans are submitted. Jim Hosler, assistant deputy director for pipeline safety, said that Sable submitted restart plan documents that were “insufficient for approval” and the agency expects the company to submit a new or revised restart plan.
“Based on my personal experience, I estimate this review will take several weeks from the time OSFM receives the new or revised restart plans,” he wrote in the declaration. “In addition, before OSFM can approve a restart plan, pipeline safety engineers must complete inspections of the pipeline and associated infrastructure. Based on my experience, I estimate that these inspections will not be complete for several weeks.”
Ahead of Tuesday’s decision, Rob Bonta, the attorney general for California, submitted a document to challenge the temporary restraining order.
Bonta claimed that the temporary restraining order could only be issued if the need was an “emergency situation.” Instead, he said that the request was an attempt at gaining a “tactical advantage.”
Sable also opposed the request for a temporary restraining order, citing “significant economic damages.”
In a declaration to the court, Steve Rusch, Sable’s vice president of Environmental & Regulatory Affairs, claimed that the company could lose up to $2.5 million a day if the pipeline does not start on schedule.
Rusch claimed the monthly cost if the pipeline is not operating would be $75 million and would impact investors in the publicly-traded company.
“Furthermore, citizens of the State of California would suffer irreparable harm in the form of higher gasoline prices, lost jobs, lost tax revenues, lost royalty sharing, and increased regulatory uncertainty,” Rusch said.
Sable announced on May 19 that it had started well testing on Platform Harmony and was transferring some of that oil production to the Las Flores Canyon processing facility. The announcement was made 10 years to the day after the Refugio Oil Spill.
Sable later responded to the temporary restraining order by saying it would follow federal guidelines as it moves toward its restart. The company also stated that it has been working to upgrade the pipeline to state-of-the-art safety systems and go above industry standards.
“This court decision does not impede Sable’s preparations for restarting the flow of oil critical to lowering California’s gas prices and stabilizing supply,” Rusch said in the statement.
“Restart of the Las Flores Pipeline System is governed by a federal consent decree, approved by a federal judge and agreed to by the United States of America and 10 other federal and state agencies. Sable is in full compliance with that consent decree and will seek to protect our rights and enforce the legal process.”
This article was updated to include Sable’s statement.
