A Southern California city announced a new project involving Chevron’s removal of tons of pipelines deep on the ocean floor amid a war with the state’s green agenda over oil drilling.
The City of Carpeteria said Santa Barbara residents will soon notice work being done along the coastline by the gas giant to take out “shuttered seafloor pipelines” between the coast and three miles offshore, a message from the city’s Facebook page read.
These are the pipelines that previously connected offshore platforms with the now former onshore processing facility, the statement read.
There will be “increased vessel and diver activity” off the coast of Tar Pits Beach, an area where natural asphalt seeps onto the beach, it added.
“Chevron has mitigation and monitoring measures in place to protect our local marine ecosystems and sensitive species,” it added, after issuing the limited license for the work. The project is expected to last about 15 days, edhat Santa Barbara reported.
Chevron officials assured the city council that “exclusion zones will be established only during active work periods,” with the areas where they are working marked with tape, rope and signage, per Citizen Portal.
“The only time that we envision excluding people from those areas would be if we were actively working in them,” a Chevron spokesperson said during the city council meeting, per the report.
The work comes following an ongoing battle in the state involving Sable Offshore Corp who announced in March it had restarted production in the Santa Barbara’s offshore platforms, sending oil through the region’s controversial pipeline for the first time since 2015.
The pipeline was shuttered that year after a spill resulted in thousands of barrels of crude leaking into the Pacific Ocean.
In March, President Donald Trump initiated the Defense Production Act to allow for the restarting of pumping off the Santa Barbara coastline.
That same week, California filed a lawsuit challenging the order, arguing it “illegally asserts exclusive jurisdiction over two California onshore oil pipelines” and prioritizes “donors over our people and communities.”
California Attorney General Rob Bonta responded to the news, writing in a statement to the Post: “The Attorney General is seeking to halt Sable’s unlawful restart of California’s onshore oil pipelines that are subject to State regulation and oversight.”
“California is unwavering in our commitment to protect our coastline and our public health,” the statement continued. “We’re looking forward to vigorously litigating our case in court.”
Judge Donna Geck of the Santa Barbara Superior Court upheld an injunction in April against the oil giant, blocking it from restarting pumping at its Santa Ynez offshore pipeline while handing a win to Gov. Gavin Newsom.
Sable attorney Jeffrey Dintzer told The Post that the pipeline “is still operational, and we are continuing to pump crude through the Santa Ynez system pursuant to the order of [US Energy] Secretary Wright who is authorized by the president.”
In recent years, several major oil refineries, including Chevron, have closed or begun the process of closing in CA, only increasing gas prices for those in the Golden State. The average price for gas on Tuesday in the state is $5.5600, according to AAA.
Lawmakers and experts have warned Newsom’s green agenda risks sending the price of a gallon above $8 per gallon.
Drivers in the Golden State pay a “California premium” that includes higher-than-average state excise and sales taxes, as well as hefty fees for climate programs unique to the state.
The California Post reached out to city leaders, Chevron and Sable for further comment.
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