Attorney General Bonta Files Lawsuit Against the Trump Administration to Stop Executive Overreach Purporting to Authorize Illegal Oil Transportation in Sable Pipelines

The lawsuit filed today challenges the Department of Energy’s unlawful order under the Defense Production Act

LOS ANGELES — California Attorney General Rob Bonta, on behalf of the State of California, today announced a new lawsuit against the Trump Administration challenging the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright’s “Pipeline Capacity Prioritization and Allocation Order” (Order) and seeking to halt its use as the basis for Sable Offshore Corp.’s (Sable) unlawful restart of two California onshore oil pipelines that are subject to State regulation and oversight. The Order, issued under the Defense Production Act (DPA), unlawfully purports to supersede state law, state court orders, and a federal court-approved Consent Decree to allow Sable to restart oil transport through lines CA-324 and CA-325, also known as the Las Flores Pipelines.

In the lawsuit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California, Attorney General Bonta argues that Secretary Wright has no authority under the DPA to excuse Sable from compliance with state and federal laws and court orders. The lawsuit alleges that the DPA Order — which DOE issued at Sable’s request — violates the Administrative Procedure Act and infringes on California’s sovereign power under the Tenth Amendment. It also alleges that the Order violates the constitutional Separation of Powers by purporting to override not only state law and a preliminary injunction issued by the Santa Barbara Superior Court, but also a judicial Consent Decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that expressly acknowledged and approved the State’s role in reviewing and approving any planned restart of the onshore pipelines. The Consent Decree, which both State and federal agencies entered, addressed violations related to the 2015 rupture of CA-324, which caused the Refugio Oil Spill, the worst California coastal oil spill in 25 years. 

“The fossil fuel industry says ‘Jump,’ and the Trump Administration asks, ‘How high?’. The Trump Administration and its oil industry buddies are once again violating the law and trampling on our state’s rights in pursuit of corporate profits,” said Attorney General Bonta. “California has seen first-hand the devastating environmental and public health impacts of these pipelines rupturing, and there are court-ordered legal requirements in place to ensure that it doesn’t happen again. But instead of following the law, the Trump Administration and an increasingly desperate Sable are attempting to ride roughshod over state authority and judicial independence — all so that Sable can profit. Protecting California’s rights, coastlines, and communities is our guiding light. We won’t let this outrageous federal overreach go without a fight.”

On March 13, 2026, Secretary Wright issued the Pipeline Allocation Order, citing as its basis a prior Executive Order “Declaring a National Energy Emergency” and directing Sable to immediately prioritize and allocate transportation of crude oil, to immediately commence performance under contracts for oil production and transportation, and to prioritize contracts regarding this oil over other contracts the company may have. The Secretary claims that these actions are “necessary or appropriate to promote the national defense and to maximize domestic energy supplies,” despite the fact that that there is no “national energy emergency,” and the amount of oil that will be transported through the Sable pipelines is negligible domestically as well as globally. In the lawsuit, Attorney General Bonta argues that the Order is arbitrary and capricious and fails to provide a rational basis for DOE’s directive — which tramples over State authority and judicial order.

Attorney General Bonta further alleges that DOE’s Order violates the Administrative Procedure Act, is contrary to law and in excess of statutory authority. The DPA does not give Secretary Wright authority to excuse Sable from complying with state and federal laws and court orders. The DPA also does not authorize DOE to compel private entities to enter into contracts with other private entities, as opposed to entering into contracts with the government. Yet, the Secretary’s Order purports to do exactly that: directing Sable to enter into contracts with private entity buyers to facilitate their transportation of crude oil.

The lawsuit also asserts that the DOE Order violates the separation of powers between the Executive and Judicial Branches of the federal government by purporting to supersede the Consent Decree approved by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California in 2020. The Consent Decree was adopted following the 2015 Refugio Beach oil spill, when a corroded segment of CA-324 ruptured and released hundreds of thousands of gallons of oil near Refugio State Beach outside Santa Barbara. The oil spill caused serious harm to public health and safety including releasing hazardous oil and fumes that sickened communities, contaminated coastal waters, harmed marine mammals and seabirds, and shut down beaches and fisheries for months — damaging local economies. The Consent Decree, entered by both state and federal agencies, resolved civil claims against the then-owner of the ruptured pipeline. In addition to penalties and damages totaling $60 million, it includes a number of prerequisites that must be met before any restart of the Pipelines may be initiated. The Consent Decree expressly acknowledged and approved the State Fire Marshal’s role in reviewing and approving any planned restart of the onshore pipelines. Yet, following DOE’s Order, Sable unlawfully restarted operations of the Las Flores Pipelines without State Fire Marshal approval, violating the Consent decree as well as state law.  

Finally, the lawsuit alleges that the Order violates the Tenth Amendment to the U.S. Constitution because four miles of Sable’s pipelines run through Gaviota State Park and Sable currently lacks California’s permission to send oil through that section of pipeline. The Tenth Amendment preserves California’s right to own and manage its own property, but the Wright Order is being used by Sable to trespass on state land.

This is Attorney General Bonta’s second lawsuit against the Trump Administration over its unlawful efforts to restart the Sable pipelines. In January, Attorney General Bonta filed a lawsuit in the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals challenging the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration’s orders that illegally purported to assert exclusive federal jurisdiction over the onshore Las Flores Pipelines by reclassifying them as “interstate,” issuing a restart approval for Sable, and providing Sable an emergency permit waiving regulatory compliance in order for Sable to restart oil transportation through the pipelines. That lawsuit remains ongoing.