In a bold move, the state of California has sued the Trump administration for approving a Texas-based company’s plans to restart two oil pipelines along the state’s coastline. The legal battle escalates the ongoing fight over the federal government’s efforts to remove regulatory barriers to offshore oil drilling for the first time in decades.
The state’s Attorney General, Rob Bonta, announced the lawsuit at a news conference, stating, “The federal administration has no right to usurp California’s regulatory authority. We’re taking them to court to draw a line in the sand and to protect our coast, beaches and communities from potentially hazardous pipelines.”
The pipelines in question are operated by Houston-based Sable Offshore Corp. and run through Santa Barbara and Kern counties. The Trump administration has hailed the project as the kind of initiative that aligns with the President’s goal of increasing U.S. energy production. However, the state of California maintains jurisdiction over the pipelines and is determined to prevent their restart.
The U.S. Transportation Department agency that approved Sable’s plan has pushed back on the lawsuit, arguing that restarting the Las Flores Pipeline will “bring much needed American energy to a state with the highest gas prices in the country.”
The legal battle stems from a 2015 oil spill that devastated the Southern California coastline. More than 140,000 gallons of oil gushed out, blackening beaches for 150 miles and polluting a biologically rich habitat for endangered whales and sea turtles. The incident was the state’s worst oil spill in decades, killing scores of pelicans, seals, and dolphins, and decimating the fishing industry.
California Assemblymember Gregg Hart, a Democrat representing Santa Barbara, condemned the federal government’s approval, stating, “California will not allow Trump and his Big Oil friends to bypass our essential environmental laws and threaten our coastline.”
The state’s lawsuit comes as California has been actively reducing its reliance on fossil fuels in favour of clean energy. This movement has been spearheaded in part by Santa Barbara County, where elected officials voted in May to begin taking steps to phase out onshore oil and gas operations.
The legal battle underscores the ongoing tension between the federal government’s push for increased domestic energy production and the state of California’s commitment to environmental protection and the transition to renewable energy sources.
