Environmentalists successfully put pressure on agency to hold Texas Oil Company Sable accountable

SANTA BARBARA COUNTY, Calif.—Environmentalists are celebrating the Coastal Commission's recent actions against Sable Offshore.
 
“We need the California Coastal Commission to stand strong, continue to make sure that this company doesn't run wild in the coastal zone, make sure that this pipeline never restarts,” said Brady Bradshaw from the Center for Biological Diversity.
 
Last Tuesday, Sable Offshore received a cease-and-desist order from the Coastal Commission.
 
This order would require Sable to fix the problem they created by digging numerous holes in the coastal zone where they installed new shutoff valves on the pipeline involved in the 2015 Refugio Spill.
 
Last Friday environmentalists showed up in San Francisco to voice their support for the Coastal Commission’s decision.  
  
The Coastal Commission says the work sable did back in September was unpermitted, but Sable maintains it was necessary to get the pipeline ready to transport oil again.
 
The Coastal Commission sent a notice of violation to Sable, but Sable continued the work before receiving a second notice of violation.
 
Now, the holes that were dug pose a risk to wildlife. 
 
“The rainy season is coming. And because of these open pits, there's an increased risk of coastal erosion and damage to coastal habitats. So the Coastal Commission was issuing this order to require SABLE to account for the damage that's been caused,” said Bradshaw.

Coastal Commissioners are reviewing Sable’s Interim Restoration Plan.

Sable says once the plan is approved, they expect the work to take roughly seven days and they say they will start immediately.

Sable has maintained that it plans to restart the pipeline by the end of the year, but Environmental Defense Center attorney Jeremy Frankel says the chances of that happening are slim to none. 
  
“ The cease and desist order says you can't you can't resume work—the repair work that they need to do, for example, until you get final permits. And the way the order defines a final permanent is not just getting the permit, but allowing the judicial review period and processes to play out,” said Environmental Defense Center Attorney Jeremy Frankel.

Sable has 120 days to apply for a development permit.