California blocked an oil pipeline in Santa Barbara. Trump forced it open

SANTA BARBARA, Calif. — On a hillside trail near Santa Barbara, Calif.,
songbirds chirped in the arching branches of oak trees. The bright blue
Pacific Ocean lapped at the secluded cliffs below. Given the
breathtaking views, it was easy to miss a knee-high sign on an orange
pillar. 


For decades, state and federal officials had halted new offshore
drilling here on California’s coast to protect its shoreline. But in
March, amid an oil shortage during the war in Iran, the Trump
administration ordered the reopening of a Santa Barbara pipeline that
had been dormant since 2015 after a major spill. 

The reboot has spawned enormous backlash locally as well as several
lawsuits against Sable, the pipeline’s Texas-based owner, from
environmental groups and California officials. The pipeline initially
burst in 2015 because of corrosion, and it remains vulnerable to another
rupture, opponents say. 

It is a twist of nature that this region, nicknamed the American Riviera
for its postcard-perfect beaches and red-tiled roofs, overlooks one of
the world’s richest offshore oil reserves. And it is perhaps a twist of
politics that the bounty of petroleum sits next to California, a liberal
state where environmental protections are held sacred. 

President Donald Trump has made increased domestic oil production a
central part of his platform, and the “drill, baby, drill” mindset tends
to be popular with his base for its near-term economic and national
security benefits. But the opposition to the pipeline is an example of
how his agenda plays out on a local level, challenging the identity and
ideology of Santa Barbara. 

For the people who live here, coastal beauty takes precedence over
almost anything else. On a breezy Santa Barbara beach, Amber Armistead
walked her pug, Nacho, under palm trees and swooping sea gulls.
Beachgoers nearby snacked on guacamole and fish tacos while others
dragged their surfboards into the waves. 

Trump “doesn’t care if there’s another spill,” Armistead, 65, said. “We
have such a beautiful place here on the coast. I don’t know why you
would jeopardize it.” 

Armistead, who manages a clothing store, said her daily strolls on the
beach were helping her become “unwaterlogged” after years of living in
Seattle. The beach is the reason she came to Santa Barbara and why she
has stayed, she said, echoing many residents. 

Santa Barbara County, roughly 90 miles northwest of Los Angeles and with
about 442,000 residents, is beloved for its Mediterranean climate and
south-facing beaches that make for some of the calmest waters in
California. Celebrities such as Oprah Winfrey and Prince Harry live here
in multimillion-dollar estates perched in the scrubby mountains peering
above the shore. 

Pipeline or not, Santa Barbara’s beaches have never been completely
pristine. Black goo has washed ashore here for thousands of years as
natural seepage from the abundant oil reserves below the ocean floor.
The Chumash tribe waterproofed their canoes and baskets with the sticky
tar. Locals know to keep baby oil in their cars to scrape it off their
feet. 

The tar has a darker connection, too. The nation’s first offshore rigs
were built here in the late 1800s and in 1969 came the nation’s first
large oil spill, which brought about the modern environmental movement
and radicalized many Santa Barbara residents against fossil fuels. 

“Seeing dying birds, seeing the oil, it really affects you deeply,” said
Joan Hartmann, a Santa Barbara County supervisor who became an
environmental studies professor after witnessing the destruction
firsthand in 1969. “It was just a wave of a sense of shame, of what have
we wrought?” 

So there was plenty of opposition from Hartmann and others when Sable
wanted to restart the pipeline. 

The company purchased it from Exxon Mobil in 2024, but several state
agencies denied permits to Sable to perform repairs and to restart
operations. 

After hitting a dead end with California regulators, Sable appealed to
the Trump administration. The president has said he wants to boost
domestic energy supplies by expanding oil drilling on and offshore in
California. And after going to war with Iran, Trump invoked the Defense
Production Act, a 1950s-era law that has typically been used in national
emergencies, saying that the oil was needed. 

That order allowed Sable to resume pipeline operations.

A number of lawsuits have not stopped Sable from pumping oil. The
pipeline is now producing about 43,000 barrels daily, according to
Sable, roughly increasing California’s in-state oil production by about
20%. 

While visiting the Sable oil facility in Santa Barbara last month, Chris
Wright, the U.S. energy secretary, said that turning on the pipeline was
necessary to protect the nation’s military operations. California has 30
military facilities, more than any other state in the country, but they
are at risk because California currently imports the bulk of its oil, he
said. 

“California was once one of America’s top oil producers, but with Gavin
Newsom doubling down on Democrats’ failed anti-energy agenda, more than
60% of the state’s oil is now imported from foreign countries,” Taylor
Rogers, a White House spokesperson, said in a statement. By allowing
Sable to drill, Trump was “unleashing American energy dominance,” she
said. 

Gov. Gavin Newsom, who opposes the restarting of the pipeline, has
countered that the amount being produced is a tiny fraction of the
global oil supply. The state of California is suing the Trump
administration for invoking the Defense Production Act in a case that is
pending. 

“Sable turned to the Trump administration to illegally invoke emergency
powers, trample over the law and put communities at risk by forcing a
restart without all required approvals,” said Anthony Martinez, a Newsom
spokesperson. 

https://www.seattletimes.com/nation-world/nation/california-blocked-an-oi
l-pipeline-in-santa-barbara-trump-forced-it-open/