California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced Friday that he is suing the Trump administration for giving Sable Oil “bogus” approval to restart two onshore oil pipelines in Santa Barbara County.
Bonta said Trump is “doing the oil industry’s bidding.”
“The Trump administration has no law to stand on. The law is clear,” Bonta said. “These pipelines fall within California’s jurisdiction. The federal administration has no right to usurp California’s regulatory authority.”
He said “these onshore pipelines are located in California and in California alone.”
Bonta announced the new litigation with the ocean as a backdrop, standing at Dockweiler State Beach in Los Angeles. It’s the 55th lawsuit the California attorney general has filed against Trump.
Sable, under a federal ruling, is allowed to restart its pipelines to transport oil from Santa Ynez to Bakersfield. The Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration on Dec. 22 approved a restart plan. Sable has started production at the Las Flores Pipeline System, but has not transported oil since May 2015 after a 100,000-gallon oil spill at Refugio State Beach Park.
Several environmental organizations, including the Environmental Defense Center, Get Oil Out! Santa Barbara ChannelKeeper and Santa Barbara County Action Network, claimed that the federal government’s issuance of emergency permits was “arbitrary, capricious, an abuse of discretion, or otherwise not in accordance with the law” and/or “without observance of
procedure required by law,” according to an emergency request to halt the restart.
Bonta said he filed the suit on behalf of the office of the state marshall.
Bonta accused Sable of “crying to Trump” to get the pipelines restarted.
“Sable said, ‘Jump,’ and Trump said, ‘How high?’ ” Bonta said.
“When Trump breaks the law, I take him to court. Full stop,” he added.
Assemblymember Gregg Hart, D–Santa Barbara, issued a statement quickly after the news conference.
“The State of California will not allow Sable — nor the Trump Administration — to come to California, ignore our laws, and expect to get away with it,” Hart said. “I commend Attorney General Bonta and the State Fire Marshal for standing up for California’s right — and responsibility — to protect our coastline, our communities, and our economy.”
Hart added:
“The people of the Central Coast have been clear: we do not want another oil spill. This legal action is about accountability, safety, and making sure that decisions affecting our coast are made through a public process—not behind closed doors in Washington.”
Other reaction came from Julie Teel Simmonds, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity.
I’m relieved that California is fighting back against Trump administration overreach,” Simmonds said. “It’s refreshing to see leaders who won’t be bullied by Trump and will stand up for the rule of law and our precious coastal resources.”