Beachgoers Reflect on Refugio Oil Spill Anniversary as Sable Restarts Production off Platform Harmony

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.-On a picture perfect Monday at Refugio State Beach some beachgoers said they still remember the Refugio Oil Spill like it was yesterday.

"I remember coming out here and helping," said Bob Walter of Santa Barbara, "there was a lot of oil on the birds a lot of tar and my daughter came and wiped down some the birds."

"I was about 12 years old when it happened," said Daniella Walter, " and to this day I feel like I am very involved in bird advocacy because I just remember the birds and a lot of tar throughout the beach."

Environmentalists marked the anniversary with a weekend paddle out.

Sable Oil Company chairman Jim Flores marked the occasion by releasing a statement saying: "SOC is proud to have safely and responsibly achieved first production at the Santa Ynez Unit."

That is not what the Sierra Club or the Environmental Defense Center wanted to hear.

"It is really Sable thumbing their nose at the people of California and especially the people in Santa Barbara and the wildlife," said Sierra Club Santa Barbara-Ventura Chair Maureen Ellenberger .

"It is so distressing that on the tenth anniversary of this massive oil spill, one of the largest spills in the nation's history, and here we have Sable saying we want to restart that same pipeline that caused that spill," said EDC Chief Counsel Linda Krop.

Sable said they tests on platform Harmony confirm the prolific nature of of what they call the Santa Ynez Unit reservoir that has been dormant for a decade.

The company is still working to repair, rather than replace, the corroded pipeline that led to the 100,000 gallon plus spill.

Most of it flowed under the 101 freeway and into the ocean.

Sable said what they have done so far is not subject to the state fire marshal's authority.

"This is what is so astonishing and it shows how irresponsible this company is. They do not have permission to operate the onshore pipeline and yet they are bringing oil from the offshore platforms storing it, knowing they don't know if they are ever going to move it. That is very dangerous, it is very irresponsible. Any other company would wait until they had all the approvals and then they would start pumping," said Krop.

Environmentalists want a review.

And they are calling on the governor and attorney general to step in.

Sierra Club members called it an ambush and a way of doing something before asking for forgiveness.

All of this comes at a time when the Trump administration is pushing for more oil drilling and what Sable calls energy security.

State Senator Monique Limón issued the following statement:

"10 years to the day that my community experienced a devastating oil spill from this very pipeline, Sable Offshore Corp. has chosen yet again to make moves behind closed doors to restart oil production off of the Gaviota coast. They did this without notifying the community or local elected leaders who have expressed their concern over this project and for good reason. The 2015 Refugio oil spill closed local businesses, costing the local economy upwards of $74 million and $96 million in cleanup costs. It exposed our community to toxic pollutants, killed unknown numbers of marine life, and destroyed habitats.

This decision further sows distrust and doubt about whether this pipeline is following safety guidelines or state law. The community I represent has made it clear. We do not want another oil spill off of our coast.”

For a link to SOC visit https://sableoffshore.com

For a link to the EDC visit https://www.environementaldefensecenter.org

For a link to the Sierra Club visit https://sierraclub.org