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OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a comment letter opposing the U.S. Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA)’s consideration of Sable Offshore Corp. (Sable)’s request for a special permit to waive a safety regulation and transport oil through Lines CA-324 and CA-325 in Santa Barbara and Kern counties. PHSMA illegally purports to assert exclusive federal jurisdiction over the onshore Lines CA-324 and CA-325 by reclassifying them as “interstate,” and issued Sable an emergency permit waiving compliance with its own safety regulation requiring evaluation and remediation of pipeline corrosion. That emergency permit recently expired and is being challenged in ongoing litigation by the California Department of Justice, as is PHMSA’s reclassification of the pipelines as interstate. In the comment letter, Attorney General Bonta argues that PHMSA is without jurisdiction to issue any special permit because the pipelines are intrastate, and therefore subject to state regulation by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) rather than PHMSA.
“Let’s be clear: we do not have a ‘National Energy Emergency.’ President Trump is simply prioritizing the fossil fuel industry, ensuring that they can continue to line their own pockets by illegally restarting oil transportation through California’s pipelines at the expense of our public health and environment,” said Attorney General Bonta. “We are making it crystal clear once again that these pipelines fall under California’s jurisdiction, and the federal government cannot illegally help Sable evade state regulation and federal safety requirements by granting this permit.”
On December 17, 2025, PHMSA illegally reclassified Lines CA-324 and CA-325 that run from Santa Barbara County to Kern County as “interstate.” The reclassification purports to shift regulatory oversight of the pipelines from the OSFM to PHMSA. Before December 17, 2025, PHMSA had classified these onshore pipelines as intrastate pipelines subject to state safety regulation and oversight. On December 22, 2025, PHMSA approved Sable’s plan to restart oil production based on President Trump’s bogus “National Energy Emergency” Executive Order that Attorney General Bonta challenged. Just last month, the Attorney General challenged DOE Secretary Chris Wright’s “Pipeline Capacity Prioritization and Allocation Order” (order) and is seeking to halt its use as the basis for Sable’s unlawful restart of the pipelines. The order, improperly issued under the Defense Production Act (DPA), unlawfully purports to supersede state law, state court orders, and a federal court-approved Consent Decree to allow Sable to restart oil transport through the pipelines.
The onshore pipelines had been shut down for a decade since the 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill, when a corroded segment of one pipeline ruptured and released more than 120,000 gallons of crude oil near Santa Barbara, at least 21,000 gallons of which entered the Pacific Ocean. The oil spill caused serious harm to public health and safety including releasing hazardous oil and fumes that sickened communities, contaminated coastal waters, harmed hundreds of marine mammals and seabirds, and shut down beaches and fisheries for months — damaging local economies. It resulted in a Consent Decree — to which PHMSA is a party — that expressly acknowledges and approves the State Fire Marshal’s role in reviewing and approving any planned restart of the onshore pipelines. PHMSA has significantly departed from this agreement, which was approved by a federal court, and the way in which PHMSA historically viewed the pipelines.
In the comment letter, the Attorney General asserts that:
- PHMSA has no authority to unilaterally modify or disregard the consent decree and cannot unilaterally assert regulatory jurisdiction over the pipelines.
- PHMSA has failed to justify the need for an emergency permit and lacks robust environmental analysis, including National Environmental Protection Act analysis.
- The DPA order does not impact this proceeding because PHMSA has no authority to grant Sable a special permit and the DPA Order itself is unlawful.
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