Pacific Pipeline Company and ExxonMobil have sued the Santa Barbara County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors for their denial of permit applications to install 16 safety valves on its Las Flores Pipeline System, the crude oil pipeline that ruptured and caused the Refugio oil spill in 2015. The companies argued before the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that the Planning Commission and Board exceeded their jurisdiction, did not follow the law, and issued findings not supported by the evidence. The companies asked the court in the November 1, 2023 filing to direct the commission to approve or reconsider the valve permit applications.
AB 864 and “Best Available Technologies”
AB 864, which was passed in response to the 2015 oil spill, requires operators of existing pipelines under the jurisdiction of the Office of the State Fire Marshal (OSFM) and located in or near the coastal zone to retrofit pipelines with “best available technologies” (BAT) to reduce the volume of a potential oil spill. These technologies include leak detection technology, automatic shutoff systems, or remote controlled sectionalized block valves.
Pacific Pipeline Co. proposed to install 16 safety valves on the pipeline system, formerly known as Lines 901 and 903, which runs from Gaviota to San Luis Obispo and ends in Kern County. The company performed a risk analysis along the lines, as required by AB 864, and determined that retrofitting the pipeline with the new valves will significantly reduce the amount of fluid released in the event of a potential line failure
In 2021, Plains Pipeline, L.P., then the owner of the pipeline, submitted an Implementation Plan and Risk Analysis to OSFM. The plan included safety and spill-prevention enhancements that OSFM determined to be “best available technologies” for the pipeline. The OSFM approved the plan.
Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors Hearings
In August 2022, the Planning Commission’s Zoning Administrator approved the project. The Gaviota Coast Conservancy, the Tautrim family, and Grey Fox LLC subsequently appealed the decision over concerns that an approval of the safety valve project would lead to a restart of the pipeline and the related oil production. The Planning Commission considered the appeals in hearings during March and April 2023, and voted to deny approval of the Pacific Pipeline Co. project. (Pacific Pipeline purchased the pipelines from Plains All American in October 2022.) The companies appealed the Planning Commission’s denial in May 2023. The Board of Supervisors heard the project on August 22, 2023 and came to tie vote of 2 – 2. The Board took no further action on the matter.
Exxon Files Suit
The companies argued that the Planning Commission and Board ignored the “record, law, and limited scope of their review” in an unlawful effort to “keep the Pipeline from transporting oil and to prevent suppliers of the Pipeline, such as the Santa Ynez Unit offshore platforms and Las Flores Canyon production facility (both owned and operated by ExxonMobil), from restarting.”
The companies argued that the Planning Commission and Board “flouted the provisions and purposes of the County’s zoning ordinances and AB 864’s mandate to install BAT technologies, like the safety valves.” The Planning Commission and Board also “issued and left in place a decision that is not supported by any evidence, let alone substantial evidence,” and “exceeded their jurisdiction by seeking to regulate pipeline safety and operations, which lie beyond the County’s jurisdiction under well-established principles of state and federal law.”
Ongoing Issues over 901 and 903
The lawsuit is only the latest issue in the ongoing legal battle between ExxonMobil and Santa Barbara County over the oil pipeline and Exxon’s plan to restart offshore oil production in the region. In September 2023, a U.S. judge denied the company’s request to reverse a decision by the Board of Supervisors to deny the company an interim permit to truck crude oil produced from its offshore platforms to a refinery in Kern County until a pipeline becomes available. (Exxon Denied Summary Judgement in Santa Barbara Trucking Permit Case.)
In October 2023, Exxon’s subsidiary withdrew its application to build a new crude oil pipeline through Santa Barbara County to replace Line 901 and 903. Pacific Pipeline Company will instead turn to restarting the pipelines from offshore platforms to out-of-county refineries. (see Exxon Subsidiary Ends Santa Barbara Oil Pipeline Replacement Project.)