Phillips 66 Declines to Challenge Oil Train Denial

Phillips 66 oil train opponents cheered when the oil company missed the deadline to file opposition to the project denial by the San Luis Obispo County Board of Supervisors, but a lawsuit in Superior Court lingers. Phillips had until 4/16 to oppose S.L.O.’s rejection to California’s Coastal Commission, whose staff, however, had written in support of the project denial. S.L.O. Superior Court Judge Barry LaBarbera had already told Phillips it needed to exhaust its administrative remedies before suing the county in court — the Coastal Commission being such an administrative body — so it remains to be seen whether the lawsuit, based on a lack of timeliness by the county in finding environmentally sensitive habitat on the project grounds, will go forward.