Sable Offshore Corp. says it has received permission to restart pipelines connected to the Santa Ynez Unit, a week after it successfully petitioned to have oversight of the lines transferred to federal authority.
Sable announced on Tuesday that a restart plan submitted to the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration had received approval for its pipelines along the Gaviota Coast.
The move is the latest change from PHMSA, which assumed control of the pipelines last Wednesday.
Sable appealed to the agency in late November, saying that the pipeline counts as an interstate project and should be under the authority of the federal government.
The pipelines were originally transferred to state authority in 2016 because they do not leave the state of California.
Sable announced the approval in a filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission on Monday. The letter from PHMSA states that the agency conducted a field inspection with Sable, and the approval is now valid.
PHMSA agreed with Sable’s argument and took control of the pipeline under the Pipeline Safety Act. The agency said the act allows it to prescribe and enforce minimum safety regulations for the pipeline.
The Office of the State Fire Marshal said it was informed of the restart decision on Monday.
Even though it received approval of its restart plan, Sable may not be able to begin the line immediately. Jeremy Frankel, a staff attorney with the Environmental Defense Council in Santa Barbara, said Sable still needs easements from state parks and an injunction in place.
Additionally, he said the company needs state and local authorizations.
The pipelines in question include CA 324 and CA 325, formerly known as Line 901 and 903.
Line 901 was the pipeline that ruptured in 2015 and caused the Refugio oil spill. The rupture spilled 142,000 gallons of crude oil onto the Gaviota shoreline and into the ocean.
The line was owned by Plains All American at the time of the spill but was later purchased along with the rest of the Santa Ynez Unit by ExxonMobil. The unit was sold a few weeks later by ExxonMobil to Sable, a new company.