California's attorney general, Rob Bonta, has announced a lawsuit against the US energy department to halt the restart of the Sable Offshore pipeline system, which links the Santa Ynez offshore platform to California refineries. Bonta described the federal action as 'outrageous federal overreach' and vowed to challenge it in court.
The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco federal court, challenges an order by US energy secretary Chris Wright, who earlier this month used powers granted by Donald Trump under the Defence Production Act to override state laws and restart the pipelines. Bonta argued that the order violates state law, state court orders, and a settlement approved by a federal court.
The Santa Ynez platform was shut down after a 2015 spill that dumped more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and onto beaches near Santa Barbara. The restart order comes amid rising fuel prices linked to the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, and Sable Offshore began shipping hydrocarbons on 14 March, aiming to sell 50,000 barrels per day by 1 April.
California governor Gavin Newsom condemned the move, stating that Trump was 'using this crisis of his own making to attempt what he’s wanted to do for years: open California’s coast for his oil industry friends so they can poison our beaches.' The lawsuit is the latest clash between Trump's push to boost fossil-fuel production and Newsom's ambitious climate agenda.
This is the second legal action California has filed against the Trump administration over the Sable pipelines. In January, the state sued over the reclassification of the pipelines as 'interstate' despite running solely within California; that case is pending before the ninth US circuit court of appeals.
