WASHINGTON— The Trump administration announced today that it is invoking the Defense Production Act, a power generally reserved for addressing extraordinary threats to national security, to compel the restart of an oil pipeline in southern California that caused one of state’s largest oil spills in 2015.

The action disregards California law, setting a precedent that could be wielded against other states.

“This is a revolting power grab by an extremist president. Trump is misusing this Cold War-era law just to help a Texas oil company skirt vital state laws that protect our coastline, and Californians will pay the price,” said Talia Nimmer, an attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity. “Mandating a restart of these defective oil pipelines won’t curb high gas prices, but it will put coastal wildlife at huge risk of another oil spill. Overriding state law to let an oil company restart pipelines sets a radically dangerous precedent. It’s clear that no state is safe from Trump.”

Texas-based Sable Offshore Corp. owns the onshore pipeline system that ruptured in 2015. Along with three offshore platforms, offshore pipelines, and onshore oil and gas processing facilities, it forms what is known as the Santa Ynez Unit.

In attempting to restart the defective onshore pipelines, Sable has run into widespread public opposition and accumulated a series of violations and criminal charges. To date, Sable has still not received all necessary approvals for a restart from California state agencies, including the Coastal Commission and State Parks.

A directive from Energy Secretary Chris Wright following a Trump executive order cited “supply disruption risks” as reasons for invoking the Defense Production Act. The law has never before been used to compel an oil company to resume production from idled infrastructure and override pending state requirements.

Today’s action follows a recent legal opinion from the Department of Justice asserting that the president could use the act to preempt state law and authority as well as other barriers to restart the embattled oil project.

“Directing a private oil company to push its project through without safety checks and adherence to California laws that keep our coast safe is appalling and illegal,” said Nimmer. “We’re exploring all legal avenues. This dangerous action should be swiftly blocked by the courts.”

The Center for Biological Diversity and the Wishtoyo Foundation have a pending lawsuit against the Office of the State Fire Marshal regarding the restart. That case challenges the agency’s issuance of waivers from corrosion-related pipeline safety requirements without any environmental review, public notice, or opportunity for a hearing. The Santa Barbara-based Environmental Defense Center filed a similar lawsuit and request for relief on behalf of a group of environmental organizations.

In July 2025 the groups won a preliminary injunction, which was recently upheld by the court. They filed the request in response to Sable’s May 2025 announcement that it had resumed oil production from one of three offshore platforms and was storing that oil in onshore tanks while it sought to restart the failed Las Flores Pipeline System.

Several other lawsuits related to the pipeline restart are ongoing. Among other violations, Sable has been cited by the California Coastal Commission for unlawful work in sensitive coastal habitat and sued by the California attorney general and Santa Barbara district attorney for legal violations tied to unlawful discharge into creeks and waterways.

In December the Trump administration moved to seize control of the pipeline system from the State Fire Marshal and issued Sable an emergency special permit that enables a restart despite the pipelines’ design defects. The state of California has challenged these actions in court, as have environmental organizations including the Center.

The Santa Ynez Unit had been shut down since May 2015, when the corroded pipeline ruptured and released what is believed to be about 450,000 gallons of oil at Refugio State Beach. The oil spill ravaged 150 miles of the California coast and killed hundreds of birds and marine mammals, shutting down beaches and fisheries.

Sable purchased the unit in 2024 from ExxonMobil and has been aggressively pushing to resuscitate the defective pipeline system and restart oil operations ever since.