California’s offshore energy wars continued to heat up with week, with regulators threatening enforcement action against an oil company in the Santa Barbara Channel as coastal communities move to lock down new barriers against drilling and deep-sea mining.
Houston-based Sable Offshore is gearing up for a showdown with the California Coastal Commission, which alleges the company restarted portions of its pipeline network without obtaining a new state permit.
Sable disputes the claim, arguing its work is covered by coastal development permits originally issued in 1986.
“Sable Offshore Corp. (“Sable”) through its subsidiary, Pacific Pipeline Company (“PPC”), continues to lawfully operate through its existing coastal development permits which were issued in 1986,” the company said in a statement to The California Post.
Coastal Commission Executive Director Kate Huckelbridge has warned alleged violations remain ongoing and said the agency could pursue cease-and-desist orders and additional penalties.
The battle comes as President Donald Trump pushes his revived “Drill, baby, drill” agenda from the White House, renewing efforts to boost domestic energy production.
California’s coastal leaders are moving in the opposite direction.
In Santa Cruz, city leaders voted unanimously Tuesday to strengthen a decades-old ordinance aimed at blocking infrastructure tied to offshore oil drilling. The revised measure also targets facilities that could support deep-sea mining operations.
The move expands on a voter-approved 1985 law requiring public approval before zoning changes could allow onshore facilities connected to offshore drilling. More than two dozen California coastal jurisdictions have since adopted similar “Blue Wall” protections.
Supporters hailed the vote as a model for other coastal communities.
“This is what local control looks like and this is what leading with values looks like,” Vice Mayor Shebreh Kalantari-Johnson said.
The vote drew applause from activists, some of whom held signs opposing offshore drilling, while the Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors approved similar changes just hours earlier. County voters will decide in November whether to make those restrictions permanent.
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