On Dec. 16, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors made one of the most consequential environmental decisions in recent years: the board denied Sable Offshore Corp.’s application to restart the processing, pipeline and storage facilities associated with the Santa Ynez Unit oil operations.

It was the right decision — grounded in safety concerns, environmental responsibility and sober recognition of Sable Offshore’s troubling track record.

Now, as the board meets again in closed session to discuss this matter, the community is watching closely. This is a critical moment not simply to revisit the policy, but to enforce it.

To understand the stakes, it’s important to understand the story behind this fight.

For decades, offshore oil has shaped both the landscape and the trauma memory of Santa Barbara County.

The 1969 Santa Barbara oil spill — still etched deeply into our civic consciousness — helped launch the modern environmental movement.

More recently, the 2015 Plains All-American Pipeline rupture of a line leaked more than 140,000 gallons of crude oil near Refugio State Beach, killing wildlife, polluting our coastline, weakening trust and leaving emotional scars that have not healed.

We lived through the beach closures, dead seabirds, devastated fisheries, broken trust and the painstaking cleanup.

This history matters. It means we know what happens when oversight loosens and corporate assurances fall short.

Sable Offshore acquired ExxonMobil’s Santa Ynez Unit infrastructure with bold claims about restart capability. But what has followed has not inspired confidence.

Courts have already issued clear rulings: Sable cannot restart oil and gas processing or transport without a final development plan approved by the Board of Supervisors.

And Chapter 25B — a law not merely procedural, but protective — explicitly exists to prevent dangerous or irresponsible operators from inheriting permits that could place our environment at risk.

The court made this clear: the board must make the final decision on any transfer.

The Board of Supervisors looked at this reality — and voted to deny the restart.

The board did so not out of abstract environmental idealism, but because of hard facts: Sable’s pattern of unsafe behavior, incomplete readiness, and the unacceptable risk posed to our coastline, communities and economy.

Now, as often happens when powerful forces cannot secure the answer they want democratically, pressure builds. Corporations lobby. Legal maneuvering continues. Economic arguments appear.

Meanwhile, residents begin fearing déjà vu all over again. That is why this moment matters.

The December decision cannot simply sit on paper. It must be enforced.

Too often we criticize elected officials without recognizing when they demonstrate moral clarity and leadership.

Supervisor Laura Capps, the board chairwoman, and Supervisors Steve Lagavnino and Roy Lee deserve appreciation.

The board has shown that Santa Barbara County is not willing to accept corporate assurances on faith alone, that we will not casually roll the dice with our marine ecosystems, our marine economy or the communities that depend on them, and that safety, accountability and public trust come before profit.

Supervisors have faced this industry before. They have had to stare down pressure campaigns, legal threats and lobbying power. They have taken difficult votes. They have navigated community division, public fatigue and economic uncertainty.

Leading responsibly in environmental policy isn’t glamorous. It requires patience, backbone and courage.

They showed it in December. Now they must show it again.

Oil companies often promise safety. They promise oversight. They promise responsible management.

But history keeps reminding us: oil infrastructure is inherently dangerous, aging infrastructure even more so, and human systems fail.

“Trust us” cannot be a governing principle.

Residents deserve assurance that when our elected officials deny something, that denial means something.

They deserve assurance that environmental protection laws were written for moments like this — and will actually be enforced.

They deserve assurance that public health, environmental safety and climate futures will not be sacrificed under corporate lobbying.

And they deserve assurance that when a federal judge states clearly that Sable cannot operate without board approval, Santa Barbara County will not blink.

The Path Forward

There will be voices calling for compromise. There will be claims that restarting facilities is necessary for economic reasons. There will be attempts to reframe this as anti-business or unrealistic.

But let us remember:

• Santa Barbara’s coastline is one of the most ecologically sensitive and economically valuable resources we have.

• Tourism, fishing, recreation and community identity depend on a healthy ocean.

• Oil spills don’t politely negotiate. They ruin what they touch.

Protecting our home is not anti-business. It is common sense stewardship.

What Santa Barbara County does here will echo. Other counties watch us. Regulators watch us. Corporations watch us. Our children — the ones inheriting our environmental decisions — will live with the outcome.

When we say we value the environment, we must prove it.

When we say corporate accountability matters, we must enforce it.

When we deny dangerous operator activity, it cannot be symbolic.

So, to Capps, Lavagnino and Lee: thank you for your leadership so far. The December vote was courageous and correct.

Now we ask you to take the next equally important step — enforce your decision. Protect our coastline. Protect our community. Uphold the law.

And let Santa Barbara County once again be the place that refused to look away as risk crept toward our shores.

In moments like this, quiet courage matters. The community is counting on you to stand firm.

And the coastline is counting on you, too.