California State Senator Monique Limón Talks Sable Oil Pipeline Ahead of Thursday’s Public Meeting

Santa Barbara’s State Senator Working with Other State Legislators and Attorney General to Hold Texas Oil Company Accountable

State Senator Monique Limón at a 2024 rally against Sable Offshore | Credit: Courtesy Office of Monique Limón

Ahead of Thursday’s public meeting with representatives from six state regulatory agencies, State Senator Monique Limón offered the Independent some insight into the trials and tribulations of Sable Offshore’s potential oil activities in the Santa Barbara Channel. With the possibility of Attorney General Rob Bonta intervening in the oil company’s legal and regulatory saga, Senator Limón wants to assure Santa Barbarans that she and other legislators are doing everything they can to keep the community safe.

For starters, Limón sees the situation pretty bluntly. “The position that Sable has taken does not build trust.”

Since Texas company Sable Offshore gained ownership of the Santa Ynez Unit — three offshore oil platforms and the connecting onshore pipelines — in February 2024, the heat has been on for them to restart oil production in the Santa Barbara Channel. Previous owner ExxonMobil will be able to fully reacquire the assets if Sable cannot get the system pumping crude by 2026 (it has been nonoperational since its pipeline ruptured in the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill under the watch of then-owner Plains All American Pipeline).

As Sable races against the clock to get the platforms and pipelines online, state agencies tasked with regulatory oversight of the system have had their hands full — or empty, depending on who you ask. With lots to do and so little time, state agencies have repeatedly asked Sable for additional and more comprehensive information on their restart plans, many times to no avail.

So far, no agency has seen Sable’s insurance policy in case of an oil spill. Limón and the involved local, state, and federal legislators haven’t either.

“You’re seeing a trend here.… There are many entities that haven’t been given the necessary information to make an informed decision that this is safe, the right approach, and the right thing to do,” she said. “This is why there are so many entities asking to put this on pause.”

By “asking to put this on pause,” Limón is referencing the several notices of violation and two cease-and-desist orders issued by three different state agencies to Sable since September. In some cases, the orders went ignored.

“In no situation does it help to have three state entities issue violations and see a company disregard them,” Limón explained. “This is not normal.”

The California Coastal Commission issued its most recent cease-and-desist order to Sable on February 18 for unpermitted work in the coastal zone. Sable sued the commission soon after, and has continued construction work along the Gaviota Coast.

The Coastal Commission’s first cease-and-desist order in November was eventually abided by after a multi-day delay. Individuals continued to witness Sable’s construction crews along the coast, despite written assurances to the Coastal Commission that all work had ceased. Sable has also been hit with multiple notices of violation from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife and the Regional Water Quality Control Board.

With seeming disregard from regulatory and enforcement agencies across the state, affected communities are grasping for straws with a “sense of urgency and deep concern” to get someone to pay attention.

Limón said her office has reached out to California Attorney General Bonta on the issue “to ensure that their violations do not go unnoticed.” Further, she and Assemblymember Gregg Hart are both drafting laws inspired by the conflicts that Sable’s restart plans have caused.

“But laws are not allowed to be applied retroactively,” Limón added, which puts legislators in a difficult position when it comes to Sable. “We can’t tell a state agency what to do. We can’t tell them, ‘You have to stop this.’”

Initially, “there was a belief for a lot of state agencies that a final determination would be at the county level,” she said, but this belief went moot when Santa Barbara County entered into a settlement agreement with Sable in September, preempting the county from having a say.

“This is not about pointing fingers in any direction,” Limón clarified. “As state entities, our roles kicked in when we realized things would not be resolved at the county level.… That’s our system of checks and balances.”

Limón said she understands where Sable is coming from in that they think they’re correct, but this isn’t a he-said-she-said situation. This is three different state agencies saying the same thing — “asking for a pause, saying ‘We need more information.’”

Getting representatives from six state regulatory entities, along with Secretary Wade Crowfoot of the California Natural Resources Agency, in the same room was surely no easy task for Limón and Hart. “But there’s a need for it and a call for it,” said Limón, who has been vigorously pushing for this meeting since last fall alongside Hart.

“I think it’s going to be really difficult to reverse the actions that the company has taken to disregard regulatory concerns, elected leader concerns, and community concerns,” Limón said. “It doesn’t build any trust.”
Senator Limón and Assemblymember Hart are hosting an informational meeting on Sable’s restart plans on Thursday, March 13, at 4 p.m. at La Cumbre Junior High School (2255 Modoc Rd.). Community members will be able to ask questions of the state agencies involved in overseeing Sable’s operations, and Secretary Crowfoot will help moderate the discussion. In-person attendees are asked to RSVP here, and the meeting will be livestreamed.

Editor’s Note: To clarify, Senator Limón doesn’t agree with Sable’s arguments that the violations against them are unfounded, but understands that Sable thinks they’re right.