Spanish
Los Ángeles.- California sued President Donald Trump's government on Monday to challenge an order that resumes the use of two pipelines without the state's regulations, which keep them under supervision after an oil spill in 2015 that contaminated one of the most diverse areas of the west coast of the United States.
The legal complaint seeks to halt the order issued by U.S. Secretary of Energy Chris Wright, which gives Sable Offshore Corp. (Sable) the green light to resume operations of the pipelines (CA-324 and CA-325) that are part of the Las Flores system.
The White House recently invoked the Defense Production Act with the aim of circumventing state regulations and increasing oil production in an attempt to alleviate pressures on the global crude supply generated by the ongoing war with Iran.
California Attorney General Rob Bonta alleges in the lawsuit that Wright "lacks authority" to exempt the oil company from complying with state and federal laws and various court orders addressing, among other things, violations related to the CA-324 pipeline rupture that caused the worst oil spill on the California coast in 25 years. The major oil spill in 2015
Bonta said in a statement that the White House and Sable are trying "desperately" to bypass the state's authority and judicial independence only "in search" of corporate profits.
"California has witnessed firsthand the devastating environmental and public health impacts of the rupture of these pipelines, and there are legal requirements ordered by the courts to ensure that it does not happen again," the prosecutor emphasized.
The CA-324 pipeline, which transports oil from the maritime platform to the coast, is subject to a court agreement following the Refugio Beach oil spill in May 2015, when a corroded segment broke and released hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil near a beach outside Santa Barbara.
The oil spill caused serious damage to public health and safety, including the release of dangerous oil and fumes that sickened communities, contaminated coastal waters, harmed marine mammals and seabirds, and forced the closure of beaches, according to the prosecution in the lawsuit.
In contrast, Wright said that the order issued on March 13th will strengthen the United States' oil supply and restore a pipeline system vital to national security and defense, ensuring that military installations on the West Coast have sufficient energy.
Sable Offshore's shares rebounded almost 10% after Wright's announcement.
