California Just Protected Its Coast By Fining a Texas Oil Company $18 Million

Over the past year, Sable began restoring the pipelines responsible for the 2015 spill — which occurred under different ownership — over demands from the Coastal Commission to halt construction.

The area where the company would eventually pump oil once again is within federal waters. However, to get the oil back onshore, the company must send it through a pipeline jutting through state waters and onto land, which is why the commission is involved.

In a report issued ahead of Thursday’s hearing in Santa Barbara, the commission staff recommended a $14.9 million administrative penalty against Sable, a cease and desist order to halt construction activity until the company complies with permitting laws and a restoration order to remedy negative environmental impacts from the work.

At the hearing, the commission passed all staff recommendations but raised the fine to the maximum amount. If the company aligns itself with its permitting process, it will reduce the fine back to the original amount.

“Sable’s refusal to comply is a refusal to follow the law; their refusal, in a very real sense, is a subversion of the will of the people of the state of California,” said Commissioner Meagan Harmon, who represents the south central coast.

“I don’t think anyone wants to stop repairs that are going to keep us safe, but they have to be done in the right way,” she added.

At Thursday’s hearing in Santa Barbara, opponents to the staff findings were given the first opportunity to address the commission. A number of people and Sable staff defended the company’s reputation, bringing “well-paying jobs” to the region and described the commission’s decision as unnecessary jurisdictional overreach.

“How much of our taxpayer dollars are going to be continued to be wasted by the commission staff fighting the very local agencies that they delegated jurisdiction to?” said Trent Fontenot with Sable. “This continuing power grab must stop and stop wasting taxpayer money.”

Hannah Beth-Jackson, former state senator for the Santa Barbara area who witnessed the 2015 oil spill, urged the commission to punish Sable for its “arrogance” to continue work without commission permission.

“This pipeline is significantly corroded,” she said. “All of these efforts that we’ve heard about remind me of the expression that you can’t put lipstick on a pig. This pipeline is a problem.”

Dozens of supporters of the commission’s decision packed the hearing, including students from Santa Barbara Middle School. Ninth grader Gus Larsen called Sable’s willingness to “gamble another huge oil spill disgusting.”

“Don’t just think about the money,” he said. “Think about the fish, the animals and think about the children, who might never get to see the beauty of Santa Barbara. Think about us.”

Sable officials said in a statement that the company is “dedicated to restarting project operations in a safe and efficient manner.” They added that “no California business should be forced to go through a protracted and arbitrary permitting process when it already has valid permits for the work it performed.”

‘They’ll only stop if a court makes them’

During an overflowing town hall to discuss the pipeline construction in mid-March, Cassidy Teufel, deputy director of the Coastal Commission, said the work is “very problematic” and occurred during bird nesting season as well as the breeding season for federally endangered species like steelhead salmon.

The commission alleged Sable started the work without its approval, refused to apply for a coastal development permit and ignored demands to stop its work — including two cease and desist orders in November and February.

“This is the first time in the agency’s history that we have had a party blatantly ignore a cease and desist order like this and refuse to submit a permanent application,” Teufel said. “Sable’s representatives have told us they’ll only stop if a court makes them.”