In the last two weeks, a federal agency confirmed a waiver that aids in the restart of the Las Flores Pipeline — the same pipeline that ruptured in 2015 resulting in the devastating Refugio State Beach oil spill. Meanwhile, a state commission issued a cease and desist letter in an effort to halt the restart.
The Refugio State Beach oil spill was a 450,000-gallon oil spill which damaged nearly 1,500 acres of beach and killed an estimated 791 local wildlife. Nexus File Photo
The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), responsible for developing and enforcing regulations for the transportation of energy, waived pipeline corrosion regulations for Sable Offshore Corp., an upstream oil company intent on restarting the Las Flores Pipeline. Two letters from PHMSA to the state of California, issued on Feb. 11, confirmed certain regulations concerning cathodic protection and seam weld corrosion to be waived.
Cathodic protection prevents corrosion through oxidation and eventual breakdown of a pipeline. Seam weld corrosion occurs where two sections of a pipe are welded together, making these areas more vulnerable to corrosion.
On Feb. 18, the California Coastal Commission, a state agency with quasi-judicial control of 1,100 miles of coastline, issued a cease and desist to Sable for alleged unauthorized repair work. Sable counter-sued the Commission the same day, claiming the letter, “unlawfully prevent[ed] [Sable’s] repair and maintenance activities along portions of the Pipelines.”
This most recent action is part of an effort by Sable to restart the Las Flores Pipeline and counter-efforts of local advocacy groups to stop it. The Refugio State Beach oil spill was a 450,000-gallon oil spill which damaged nearly 1,500 acres of beach and killed an estimated 791 local wildlife, making it one of the largest oil spills on the Pacific Coast to date. In December of last year, 120 organizations such as the Sierra Club and Associated Students Environmental Affairs Board co-signed a letter sent to California Governor Gavin Newsom urging him to ensure state agencies approve restarting the pipeline.
The California State Fire Marshal issued the original regulations waiver to Sable on Dec. 17, stating waivers placed, “more stringent compliance requirements on the operator” in an email statement to the Nexus. PHMSA had 60 days after the State Fire Marshal’s waiver was issued to approve or reject the waiver.
PHMSA denied requests for direct comment and referred the Nexus to the two letters confirming the waiver.
“This waiver will allow Sable to manage the risk of corrosion under insulation that may occur as a result of inadequate cathodic protection due to the shielding effects of the polyurethane foam insulation and the polyethylene tape wrap,” the letters by Alan Mayberry, associate administrator for pipeline safety, read.
The Center for Biological Diversity is one of the local organizations opposing the pipeline and is currently appealing the transfer of county permits from ExxonMobil to Sable, another requirement for the restart of the pipeline.
“This federal agency [PHMSA] is supposed to protect the public and the environment, but instead it’s greenlighting an aging pipeline system without requiring basic safeguards to prevent corrosion,” Julie Teel Simmonds, senior counsel at the Center for Biological Diversity, said in a statement to the Nexus.
According to Jeremy Frankel, a staff attorney for the Environmental Defense Center, the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection waiver allows Sable to operate without effective cathodic protections.
“It’s this lack of effective cathodic protection that ultimately led to the spill in 2015,” he said in a January interview with the Nexus.
This is the second cease and desist the California Coastal Commission sent to Sable for allegedly renovating the pipeline without permission since its initial cease and desist in November.
“I’m disgusted that Sable Offshore would sue rather than listen to the Coastal Commission and pause construction along the pipeline and protect the environment. The big excavators and digging risk damaging the coast, so the commission’s order was a sensible step,” Brady Bradshaw, a senior oceans campaigner at the Center for Biological Diversity’s Oceans program, said in a statement to the Nexus.
Sable declined to provide comment on the newest action, referring the Nexus to a statement given in January.
“Restart of the Santa Ynez Unit is authorized and ultimately controlled by the process outlined in the federal consent decree. Sable continues to work closely with state regulatory agencies to follow the framework laid out by the consent decree,” Vice President of Environmental & Governmental Affairs Steve Rusch said in the statement.
Other requirements needed to restart the pipeline include county permits, which will be decided by the Board of Supervisors on Feb. 25, and a decommissioning bond posted to the California Geologic Energy Management Division, which the Division is still estimating.
The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing at the Santa Barbara County Administration Building regarding county permits for the pipeline, where local organizations plan to protest the restart.
The Nexus will continue to report on this topic as more information becomes available.
