California sues US Dept of Energy over Sable oil pipeline restart
California Attorney General Rob Bonta said on Monday he has sued the U.S. Department of Energy to stop it from using a Cold War-era law to restart the Sable Offshore pipeline system linking the Santa Ynez platform to California refineries.
Secretary of Energy Chris Wright restarted the pipelines using powers granted by President Trump through an executive order invoking the Defense Production Act to override state laws.
Bonta called the order “outrageous federal overreach,” saying it violates state law, court orders, and a federal court-approved settlement. The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco federal court, asks the court to block the Energy Department from operating the platform and pipelines under Wright’s order.
The Santa Ynez platform was shut down after a 2015 spill dumped more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific and onto Santa Barbara beaches.
The lawsuit continues clashes between Trump, who seeks to expand domestic fossil fuel production, and California Governor Gavin Newsom, who champions the state’s climate agenda. Wright’s order comes amid global fuel price surges linked to the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran. Sable began shipping on March 14 and expects 50,000 barrels per day by April 1.
California also sued in January over Trump’s reclassification of the pipelines as “interstate,” a case still pending in the 9th Circuit Court of Appeals.
