The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration launched an official review of the California Coastal Commission in an effort to bypass state legislation on June 26, following a request from Secretary of Commerce Howard Lutnick.
The restart of the Sable pipeline is a violation of an injunction on its continued maintenance and use. Nexus file photo
The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) could deem the California Coastal Commission (CCC) non-compliant of the California Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA). This would not only strip the agency of federal funding but also strike a blow to California’s political autonomy.
The CCC, under CZMA, has legal authority to protect California’s coastal zone via organizing and regulating environmentally sustainable development projects and utilizing intergovernmental coordination. The agency’s establishment has been a permanent part of legislation for 50 years, since the adoption of the California Coastal Act of 1976.
According to a notice from NOAA, its evaluation of the CCC will be based on the extent to which the agency has followed CZMA guidelines. It will also seek new input from “relevant stakeholders regarding spaceport infrastructure, offshore oil production, pipeline maintenance, desalination projects, and undersea cables.”
In a letter to the director of the White House National Economic Council, Lutnick stated that the review is meant to protect the U.S. from “obstructionist policies that delay critical national infrastructure in the name of environmental extremism.”
The investigation of the CCC stems from an ongoing battle between the State of California and President Donald Trump’s Administration — in part due to a federal push for domestic oil production. The Sable Offshore Pipeline, a system of pipes along the Santa Barbara coast, has been at the center of debates with opposing directives to stop and restart its oil production. California Governor Gavin Newsom has made several attempts to halt the pipeline; however, Trump issued an executive order in March that mandated its resumption.
The restart of the Sable pipeline is a violation of an injunction on its continued maintenance and use. In response to Trump’s executive order, California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a motion for a preliminary injunction of the pipeline, his second lawsuit against the Trump administration’s efforts to utilize the pipes.
The pipeline has been the subject of controversy since the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill. At the time, the pipeline system was owned by Plains All American Pipeline and failed due to infrastructural issues — resulting in the contamination of the coast with 142,800 gallons of crude oil. The pipes were shut down and left idle until Sable Offshore bought them in 2024. The Texas-based oil company reconstructed the pipeline without proper authorization and received a fine of $18 million from the CCC.
Without the CCC’s government funds and legal authority, the California Coast will lose a primary source of protection for over 1000 miles of its coastline, and the 3 nautical miles it extends offshore. The zone will be left vulnerable to unregulated development, habitat destruction and commercial exploitation.
