California judge rebukes Trump-backed plan that bypasses state authority in oil pipeline restart
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In a rebuff of the Trump administration’s push to restart oil pipelines off California’s Central Coast, a state judge has ruled that a recent executive order does not override state regulations concerning oil operations.It remains unclear exactly what effect the ruling may have on pipeline operator Sable Offshore Corp., which faces a number of legal challenges from California authorities.
Environmental groups, however, celebrated Friday’s ruling as a “win for the rule of law,” and Gov.Gavin Newsom called it a “rebuke of the Trump administration and Sable’s ploy to illegally use emergency powers to bypass California law.” California California’s attorney general challenged the Trump administration order that called on Sable Offshore Corp.
to restart pipelines over state and local objections.Last month, the Trump administration invoked the Defense Production Act when it directed Sable to commence operations and send crude flowing through a network of undersea and on-land oil lines.The administration argued that the order preempted several California laws, regulations and court orders, which had, for months, blocked the pipelines’ restart.
In Friday’s ruling, Santa Barbara County Superior Court Judge Donna Geck upheld a preliminary injunction issued last summer against Sable, prohibiting the pipeline system’s restart until the Houston-based company adheres to all state and local regulations.“Nothing ...
permits a party subject to a [Defense Production Act] order to violate other laws,” Geck wrote in the ruling.She cited case law from two other similar federal court decisions, which “strongly implies that the [Defense Production Act] order, by itself, does not permit the violation of applicable state regulatory law.”Experts say Geck’s ruling could signal how other judges — including in upcoming federal court cases — may rule on the Trump adm...