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 2024, the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) granted Sable Offshore a waiver to operate the onshore 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.
In April 2025, Channelkeeper 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.
In our lawsuit, we are asserting OSFM was required under state and federal law to conduct an environmental review, publish its rationale for granting the waiver, and allow for public input.
Environmental Defense Center is representing Channelkeeper and the other groups in this lawsuit.
How You Can Help
Urge Governor Gavin Newsom and California State Parks to act now to protect the coast.
Tell Governor Newsom and California State Parks: Parks are for People, NOT Pipelines!
California State Parks granted Sable a Notice of Exemption in May of 2025, which entailed granting a right-of-entry into Gaviota State Park that allowed Sable to excavate and repair eighteen sites along the pipeline without environmental review. Since then, Sable has submitted an application to State Parks for an easement to restart, operate, and maintain the portion of the pipeline that passes through Gaviota State Park. Channelkeeper and our partners are concerned that State Parks will grant the company the requested easement without public notice, environmental review, or tribal consultation.
Channelkeeper and other environmental groups assert that State Parks should conduct an environmental review of Sable’s application for an easement through Gaviota State Park, and thus, we are calling on Governor Gavin Newsom and California State Parks to require a full environmental impact review before any action on this easement is taken.
It is vital to show strong community support for environmental review before this project continues forward. We are asking community members to call Governor Newsom and California State Parks director Armando Quintero to tell them that our State Parks are for people, not oil pipelines. Restarting oil production and conveyance through the corroded pipeline system that was responsible for the 2015 Plains All-American Oil Spill at Refugio Beach would endanger some of California’s most ecologically sensitive coastline.
Tell Governor Newsom that it’s time to step in to stop Sable’s dangerous oil pipeline
Call or email him today!
- Use the sample script below or create your own
- Call Governor Newsom: 916-445-2841
- Send it in a letter: Governor Gavin Newsom, 1021 O Street, Suite 9000, Sacramento, CA 95814
Call Governor Newsom’s office at 916-445-2841. Try to talk to a member of staff. Here’s what you can say:
“Hello. My name is ___ and I’m a resident of ____ .
I’m extremely disappointed to see Sable Offshore, a Texas-based company, barrel through with its risky, dangerous plans to restart oil drilling off of Gaviota Coast. Not a single agency under your leadership appears to be committed to conducting a full environmental review for the proposed restart, including for the defective pipeline that caused the 2015 disaster.
None of us want another major oil spill, and we need strong leadership from you to stop that from happening.
Please take a stand to protect California’s coast from offshore drilling. Thank you.”
You can also call State Park’s Director Quintero’s office to share your message at 916-902-8900.
“Hello. My name is ___ and I’m a resident of ____ .
I’m extremely disappointed that State Parks already granted one exemption from environmental review for Sable Offshore Corp’s work in Gaviota State Park.
None of us want a repeat of the massive 2015 oil spill at Refugio State Beach and we need strong leadership from you to stop that from happening.
Please require a full environmental review before you make any decision on Sable Offshore Corp.’s application for a new pipeline easement through Gaviota State Park for the Las Flores Pipeline System. Thank you
If you get through to voicemail, please leave a message. Then, make sure your friends and family make a call as well.