Santa Barbara County and Sable Offshore Corporation reached an agreement that allows the pipeline company to install 16 new underground safety valves along the Las Flores Pipeline System, which ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio oil spill. Sable, for its part, will dismiss its lawsuit against the county. Sable now expects to restart production from the Santa Ynez Unit in the fourth quarter of 2024 pending approval from the California Department of Fish and Wildlife’s Office of Spill Prevention and Response and the California State Lands Commission.
In the August 30, 2024 “Safety Valve Settlement Agreement,” Santa Barbara County acknowledged that it does not have jurisdiction over the installation of the safety valves because they are underground. The agreement ends a battle between Sable and Santa Barbara County that began in 2022, when Sable, then a subsidiary of ExxonMobil, submitted its application to install the safety valves needed to comply with the “best available technologies” requirement under AB 864 and a safety plan approved in 2021.
The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors denied the approval of the permits to install the valves in 2023 after the Planning Commission initially approved them. ExxonMobil and Pacific Pipeline Company sued the county in November 2023, arguing that the county exceeded its jurisdiction.
Safety Valve Settlement Agreement
As part of the Safety Valve Settlement Agreement, Pacific Pipeline Company agreed to enhancements to its pipeline surveillance and spill response:
Pacific Pipeline Company will create a Santa Barbara County-based Surveillance and Response Team. The team will be responsible for timely initial incident response and equipped with key resources to deploy in early containment, particularly for those regions of the pipeline between Gaviota and Las Flores Canyon;
The company will provide Santa Barbara first responders with additional training and equipment to assist in the company’s incident response efforts; and
The company will also enhance the pipeline system by installing, operating, and maintaining primary and secondary Operations Control Centers in Santa Barbara County and refurbishing the Gaviota pump in its existing station.
Dismissal of Lawsuit
Pacific Pipeline Company and Sable agreed to dismiss the pending lawsuit Pacific Pipeline Company and Sable Offshore Corp. v. Santa Barbara County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors within 15 days of final installation of all 16 safety valves.
According to Sable’s 8-K filing with the U.S Securities and Exchange Commission, the agreement is predicated on a prior settlement agreement between Pacific Pipeline’s predecessor in interest, Celeron Pipeline Company, and Santa Barbara County in the 1988 federal case of Celeron Pipeline Company of California v. County of Santa Barbara.