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The federal government may have intervened to give the oil company permission to restart drilling off the Gaviota Coast, but the story doesn’t have to end here.
We live in chaotic times, and it’s tempting to shield ourselves from difficult realities lest we feel overwhelmed as we turn the page from 2025, one of the hottest years on record. Here in Santa Barbara, a consequential battle is being waged — one with profound implications for the future of our county, our state, and our country.
The federal government is attempting to assert authority over the corroded pipeline that crosses our region and restart oil operations under the guise of a national emergency. In a surreal escalation, Washington is claiming it is an “interstate” pipeline rather than an “intrastate” one, giving them authority. The pipeline has never crossed state lines, and a federal consent decree imposed after the 2015 spill affirmatively designated the pipeline “intrastate,” its safety to be overseen by the California State Fire Marshal.
Exxon seeks to transfer their lease rights to the underfunded Sable Offshore Corp., and together the companies have threatened Santa Barbara County with a lawsuit asserting “takings” to force capitulation. The constitutional experts I’ve consulted find a “takings” claim legally spurious. Any lawsuit can be intimidating, but for the County to cave, when it is merely enforcing its own ordinance, would be dire.
I have written an op-ed in the Santa Barbara Independent with more history and analysis.
The transition away from fossil fuels will not happen overnight, but California — and Santa Barbara County in particular — has made extraordinary progress toward renewable energy. Those hard-won gains will be undone if Sable Offshore operates the corroded pipeline.
What can you do?
Call your County supervisor and express your concerns. Remind them that Sable Offshore has defied oversight requirements of state and local agencies, failed to pay resultant fines, and failed to show financial capacity the County requires by ordinance to manage the inevitable spill.
Ask the supervisors to hold firm and enforce its denial of Sable’s applications to operate within the County, and tell them you stand with them.
Elbows up.
Victoria Riskin, Founder, Bluedot Living
