Overview
- Supervisors voted 3–1 to finalize denial of onshore permit transfers, citing a pattern of noncompliance that includes a record $18 million Coastal Commission penalty, violation notices, and a state Attorney General lawsuit.
- Environmental advocates say the decision bars Sable from lawfully operating onshore facilities on the Gaviota Coast, closing out more than a year of county hearings on the transfer request.
- PHMSA determined the Las Flores Pipeline is an interstate line, preempting California’s State Fire Marshal after December inspections and shifting safety oversight to the federal regulator.
- Sable says the county action does not alter its plans to operate Santa Ynez Unit facilities or resume oil sales, and it is pursuing a Superior Court lawsuit to force the permit transfers.
- The company still faces parallel exposure, including felony and misdemeanor charges filed by the county District Attorney, a civil case by the Attorney General, and previously floated FPSO and tanker options to route around state control.