US EditionCalifornia sues the Trump administration over plans to restart oil pipelines along the coast
California challenges federal reclassification of pipelines as interstate, citing environmental risks and legal violations following a 2015 spill of over 140,000 gallons of oil, AG Bonta said.
- On Jan. 23, 2026, California Attorney General Rob Bonta announced a suit in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit to block Sable Offshore Corp.’s plan to restart two onshore pipelines running from Santa Barbara County to Kern County.
- A corroded segment in 2015 forced shutdowns that underpin today’s legal fight, after PHMSA reclassified and federalized the lines via the Dec. 17 order and Dec. 22 re-designation.
- PHMSA said it approved the restart citing federal emergency authority, noting it returned jurisdiction based on President Donald Trump’s executive order and Sable Offshore Corp.’s November filings.
- Filed in the Ninth Circuit, the petition asks a court to void PHMSA’s orders, arguing violations of the Administrative Procedure Act as environmental groups are expected to intervene.
- The dispute highlights long-running federal-state clashes as California filed more than 100 lawsuits against the Trump Administration, while PHMSA and the Interior Department push 34 offshore lease sales.
141 Articles
141 Articles
Comments on California’s Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration on an Essential Interstate Pipeline
As reported today, 1/23/26, in Reuters, at a time when refineries are closing, California’s dependency on foreign oil, gasoline, and jet fuel from Iraq, India and China are increasing, California’s State Attorney General Bonta’s and Governor Newsom’s lawsuit against the Trump Administration’s permitting the use of an essential interstate crude oil pipeline is a desperate response to pressure from environmental and special interest groups, as wel…
California sues Trump administration over allegedly 'unlawful' pipeline restart approval years after oil spill
California files its 55th lawsuit against the Trump administration, alleging federal overreach in pipeline restart approval. The state claims jurisdictional violation.
Los Angeles, U.S.A., Jan. 23 (EFE).- California Attorney Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit this Friday against the U.S. President Donald Trump's Administration for unauthorized assumption of the jurisdiction of two land pipelines to conduct oil operations on the California coasts. The complaint seeks to challenge the orders of the Security Administration of Dangerous Pipelines and Materials (PHMSA) “which illegally assert exclusive jurisdiction over two…
California sues Trump administration over plans to restart oil pipelines along the coast
SACRAMENTO, Calif. — California sued the federal government Friday for approving a Texas-based company's plans to restart two oil pipelines along the state's coast, escalating a fight over the Trump administration's removal of regulatory barriers to offshore oil drilling for the first time in decades.
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