Channelkeeper is actively engaged in the fight to protect coastal waters
and prevent future oil spills.
Ten years ago, a heavily corroded pipeline on the Gaviota Coast ruptured, spewing more than 120,000 gallons of crude oil near Refugio State Beach. It caused one of the largest oil spills in California’s history, devastating 150 miles of the California coast and resulting in more than $750 million in damage to the coastal environment, local fisheries, and ocean-dependent businesses, in addition to the deaths of hundreds of marine mammals and birds.
Following the spill, the three offshore platforms known as the Santa Ynez Unit and the onshore Las Flores Pipeline system and processing plant were shut down and oil and gas production was suspended. This infrastructure has remained idle since 2015.
A Texas-based oil company called Sable Offshore is currently attempting to restart offshore oil production along the Gaviota Coast using the same corroded pipeline that caused the 2015 Refugio Oil Spill. It set an aggressive timeline for restarting production and has undertaken significant, damaging construction work without permits. Several state agencies have issued notices of violation and cease and desist orders to Sable, but the company has ignored these directives.
Channelkeeper has joined the Environmental Defense Center and other organizations in opposing the restart of oil production along the Gaviota Coast and conveyance through the corroded pipeline that damaged our coast in 2015. Our team, represented by the Environmental Defense Center, is working to ensure pipeline safety laws and environmental laws are followed, especially requirements for development permits, thorough environmental analysis of the project, and full public participation.
If this project goes forward, another disaster is all but inevitable. According to a draft environmental analysis prepared for the County of Santa Barbara, putting this corroded pipeline back into use creates the risk of a spill every year and a major rupture similar to the one in 2015 every four years. Returning oil to this corroded pipeline would increase the threat of potential spills and oil-related disasters significantly along the California coast.
We’re Taking Action
Channelkeeper has actively opposed the pipeline’s restart by:
- Providing written comments;
- Delivering public testimony at hearings, press conferences, and rallies;
- Urging supporters to attend hearings and voice their opposition;
- Joining a lawsuit with other environmental groups challenging the state waivers granted by the State Fire Marshal.
In December of 2025, the California State Fire Marshal granted Sable Offshore a waiver to operate the pipeline without effective protection against corrosion. In doing so, the agency helped advance Sable’s efforts to reactivate oil production in the Santa Ynez Unit, which threatens the precious ecosystems of the Santa Barbara Channel and the surrounding communities.
Channelkeeper recently joined the Environmental Defense Center, Sierra Club, Get Oil Out!, and the Santa Barbara County Action Network in filing a lawsuit challenging state waivers granted to Sable Offshore. The waivers further the company’s plan to restart the same defective onshore oil pipeline that ruptured near Refugio Beach in 2015 and caused one of the worst oil spills in California history.
Our lawsuit challenges the decision by the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) to grant waivers allowing the pipeline to operate without effective protection against corrosion, which was the major cause of the 2015 spill. We are asserting OSFM improperly approved the waivers last year without conducting an environmental review, publishing its rationale for granting the waiver, and allowing for public input as required by state and federal law.
Environmental Defense Center is representing Channelkeeper and the other groups in this lawsuit.
How You Can Help
Urge Governor Gavin Newsom to act now to protect the coast.
With the Trump administration promising to “drill, baby, drill,” Governor Gavin Newsom must boldly lead the way to securing a future for wildlife, the ocean, and the climate. Send a letter or call today!
- Copy the sample letter below or create your own
- Email it to Governor Newsom
- Send it in a letter: Governor Gavin Newsom, 1021 O Street, Suite 9000, Sacramento, CA 95814
- Call Governor Newsom: (916) 445-2841
Sample Letter:
Dear Governor Newsom,
Thank you for the work you’ve done so far to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and the Trump administration’s “drill, baby, drill” policies. Under your leadership we can move toward ending fossil fuel pollution and supporting a resilient climate future.
I urge you to continue these efforts by preventing the restart of the Santa Ynez Unit, a major offshore oil and gas operation off the Santa Barbara coast.
Even with a ban on oil leasing in the Pacific, the biggest threat to California’s coast is the restart of the Santa Ynez Unit, which includes three end-of-life offshore oil-drilling platforms, offshore pipelines, onshore oil and gas facilities, and an onshore pipeline system. The onshore pipeline system already ruptured once, in 2015, causing one of California’s worst environmental disasters. The resulting oil spill killed hundreds of marine mammals and birds and closed beaches and fisheries.
If restarted, the project would be the largest source of stationary greenhouse gas pollution in Santa Barbara County and a significant source of many other air pollutants that cause sicknesses like cancer and asthma.
The Santa Ynez Unit’s onshore oil and gas facilities are also located in a high-risk fire area. Two recent fires burned onto the property — the Sherpa Fire in 2016 and the Alisal Fire in 2021 — and the Refugio Fire in 2024 threatened the facility itself.
Offshore drilling and oil transport is inherently dangerous. There’s no way to adequately protect people, wildlife, and coastlines if this massive oil project restarts.
I oppose plans to restart the Santa Ynez Unit. Please ensure its corroded onshore pipelines, polluting facilities and offshore drilling platforms are retired and never get a second chance to spill.
Sincerely,
[your name]