IN SUMMARY
- The Trump administration ordered the restart of a Santa Barbara oil pipeline shut since the 2015 Refugio spill, invoking emergency powers under the Defense Production Act.
- California officials say the move defies court orders and state oversight. Gov. Gavin Newsom said the state will sue.
- The order escalates a fight over whether federal authority can override California regulators blocking Sable Offshore’s plan to restart the pipeline.
The Trump administration invoked emergency powers under the Defense Production Act Friday, ordering the restart of the Santa Ynez offshore oil platform and pipeline along the Santa Barbara County coast that was shuttered after a spill released thousands of barrels of crude into the Pacific 11 years ago.
The move, which comes in response to skyrocketing fuel prices in the wake of the Iran conflict, brought an immediate threat to sue by Gov. Gavin Newsom.
The order also marks the most aggressive federal intervention yet in a yearslong dispute. On one side is the Trump administration and Sable Offshore Corp., a Houston-based startup that has been trying to restart the pipeline. On the other are California officials and environmental groups who oppose the effort.
Sable, which bought the system from ExxonMobil in 2024, has told investors that production could increase from about 30,000 barrels of oil equivalent per day to more than 50,000 if the system restarts, sending oil to refineries in Los Angeles, Bakersfield and the Bay Area. The company did not immediately respond to a request for comment Friday evening.
The ruptured pipeline released crude oil onto beaches north of Goleta in May 2015, killing hundreds of birds and marine mammals and triggering one of the worst California coastal oil spills in decades.
Sable was blocked from restarting operations by court orders requiring approval from California regulators — a requirement the Trump administration has tried to override.
On Friday, Energy Secretary Chris Wright said in a statement that the Trump Administration “remains committed to putting all Americans and their energy security first. Today’s order will strengthen America’s oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to our national security and defense, ensuring that West Coast military installations have the reliable energy critical to military readiness.”
Newsom said, however, that California will sue the Trump administration over the move.
“Donald Trump started a war, admitted it would spike gas prices nationwide, and told Americans it was a small price to pay,” Newsom said. “Now he’s using this crisis of his own making to attempt what he’s wanted to do for years: open California’s coast for his oil industry friends so they can poison our beaches.”
“The Trump administration and Sable are defying multiple court orders, and we will see them back in court,” Newsom said.
The Energy Department did not immediately provide CalMatters with a copy of the order. A March 3 legal opinion from the Justice Department concluded that a federal order under the Defense Production Act of 1950 could preempt state law in the Sable case. It also said such an order could override a 2020 federal consent decree stemming from the 2015 Refugio spill that requires approval from the California State Fire Marshal before the pipeline can restart.
Earlier Friday, the White House issued an executive order expanding and clarifying the energy secretary’s authority to act under the Defense Production Act.
Environmental groups challenging the legality of Sable’s plans condemned the move.
“This is a revolting power grab by an extremist president,” said Talia Nimmer, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, which has challenged the pipeline restart in state and federal court. “Trump is misusing this Cold War-era law just to help a Texas oil company skirt vital state laws that protect our coastline, and Californians will pay the price.”
Nimmer said forcing the pipelines to restart would not lower gasoline prices but would expose coastal wildlife to the risk of another spill. Allowing the federal government to override state law so an oil company can restart the pipelines, she said, would set a dangerous precedent. The Trump administration has long sought to expand offshore oil leasing along the West Coast, which has drawn fierce opposition in California.
In December, federal officials sought to shift authority over the pipeline from California regulators to Washington when the Pipeline and Hazardous tMaterials Safety Administration ruled that the infrastructure qualifies as an interstate pipeline. It issued an emergency permit approving a restart plan.
Environmental groups and the state of California challenged that move and are awaiting a ruling in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals.
A representative for Attorney General Rob Bonta could not immediately be reached for comment on Friday. After the Justice Department released its memo outlining the legal basis for the move, Bonta spokesperson Christine Lee said the state was reviewing that development.
“The Trump Administration’s desire to put oil and gas interests over our communities and a clean environment continues unabated,” Lee said, on Tuesday. “We are reviewing this development and cannot comment on legal strategy.”
Last month, a Santa Barbara County Superior Court judge ordered the pipeline to remain shut down, ruling that the Trump administration’s earlier intervention was not enough to override an injunction requiring Sable to obtain state approvals before restarting.
