On September 19, 2023, the Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved the change of ownership, guarantor, and operator of the pipeline system that ruptured in the 2015 Refugio oil spill.
The approval on a 4-0 vote authorized the transfer of the pipeline’s Final Development Plan Permit from Plains All American Pipeline Company to Pacific Pipeline Company as the owner, ExxonMobil Pipeline Company as the operator, and ExxonMobil as the guarantor.
Santa Barbara County Code Chapter 25B requires the county to approve changes in pipeline ownership, operator, and guarantor. The Santa Barbara County Planning Commission approved ExxonMobil’s request to transfer ownership of the pipelines on June 14, 2023. Environmental groups appealed the decision under County Code Chapter 25B, sending it to the Board of Supervisors for review.
The June appeal argued a number of issues, including that the Planning Commissions did not refer to other pending projects in its analysis and may have incorrectly analyzed issues that overlap with other projects. Opponents also argued that the approval requires an environmental review under the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA), raised a number or safety and maintenance issues, argued that the prior owner was not in compliance with existing permit conditions, and argued that the pipeline easements had expired.
The Board of Supervisors, however, determined that the transfer is not a project and is not subject to CEQA. The Board also found the prior owner was in compliance with all of the permit requirements. Supervisor Laura Capps said the “change of ownership is an administrative action” and that approving the transfer would ensure that the permit “actually matches the company that owns the pipeline.”