California Sues Trump Administration Over PHMSA Approval to Restart Santa Barbara–Kern Oil Pipelines

California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed the state’s 55th lawsuit against the Trump administration, challenging the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s decision to assert federal jurisdiction over two Los Flores oil pipelines that run solely within California and to grant operator Sable Offshore Corp. an 'emergency' permit to restart them. Speaking Friday at Dockweiler State Beach, Bonta argued the lines—running from Santa Barbara County to Kern County and including the one that ruptured in the 2015 Refugio spill—are intrastate infrastructure subject to California oversight, and accused PHMSA of 'unlawfully federalizing' them at the company’s request. He called the emergency designation a sham, saying there is 'absolutely no emergency,' and framed the move as another example of the administration 'doing the oil industry’s bidding' while usurping state authority. The case will force a court test of how far federal pipeline law and offshore jurisdiction extend when lines originate and terminate inside one state but serve offshore production, with environmental groups and industry likely to line up on opposite sides. The 2015 rupture, which dumped more than 100,000 gallons of crude and fouled the coast, remains a potent symbol in California’s battles over fossil fuel infrastructure near sensitive coastlines.