Attorney General Bonta Seeks to Halt Trump Administration’s Illegal Greenlight of Oil Transportation in California Pipelines

OAKLAND — California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a motion for a preliminary injunction to block the Trump Administration from unlawfully ordering Sable Offshore Corp. (Sable), under the Defense Production Act (DPA), to restart two California onshore oil pipelines that are subject to State regulation and oversight. In March 2026, Attorney General Bonta challenged the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) Secretary Chris Wright’s “Pipeline Capacity Prioritization and Allocation Order” under the DPA. The Wright Order unlawfully attempts to supersede state law and a federal court-ordered Consent Decree to require Sable to restart oil transport through Lines CA-324 and CA-325, also known as the Las Flores Pipelines. In the motion, Attorney General Bonta urges the court to enjoin the Wright Order and immediately block Sable’s transportation of oil through the pipelines because these actions are unlawful and subject California to irreparable harm without the court’s intervention.

“Unfortunately, California has seen firsthand the devastating environmental and public health impacts of coastal oil spills,” said Attorney General Bonta. “Yet the Trump Administration will stop at nothing to help its oil industry allies evade state regulation that protects against these very disasters. Sable lobbied the federal government for the illegal Wright Order as part of a campaign to short-circuit state environmental protection requirements, and Sable is now unlawfully transporting its oil through the Las Flores Pipelines. Let’s be clear: this illegal attempt from the Trump Administration lets Sable profit at the expense of our environment and public health. California isn’t going to sit back and watch while the federal government attempts to interfere with California’s sovereign authority and dismantle our critical public health protections — we will continue to fight back. We're asking the Court to stay the Wright Order and block Sable’s oil transportation immediately." 

Attorney General Bonta argues in his lawsuit, filed on March 23, 2026, 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 Wright 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 state laws and a Consent Decree issued by the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California that expressly granted the State authority to approve any restart of the onshore pipelines. The Consent Decree, into which both State and federal agencies entered, addressed violations related to the 2015 rupture of Line CA-324, which caused the Refugio Oil Spill, the worst California coastal oil spill in 25 years. 

In his motion, the Attorney General argues that:

• California is likely to prevail on its claims that the Trump Administration’s actions violate the Administrative Procedure Act, because the DPA does not give Secretary Wright authority to excuse Sable from complying with state and federal laws and court orders. The Wright Order is also contrary to the DPA and associated regulations and was issued arbitrarily and capriciously.
• The Wright Order violates constitutional separation of powers and federalism principles.
• The state will suffer irreparable harm if the Wright Order is not enjoined and Sable continues its oil transportation through the pipelines without complying with a court order and state and federal laws. The previous, catastrophic rupture of the pipeline in Santa Barbara led to immense environmental and economic damage.
• Granting the preliminary injunction would serve the public interest, because the public has a substantial interest in ensuring the federal government and Sable abide by the law and Constitution.

The motion is part of Attorney General Bonta’s second lawsuit challenging the Trump Administration’s 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 Lines CA-324 and 325 by reclassifying them as “interstate,” issuing a restart approval for Sable, and providing Sable an emergency permit that waived regulatory compliance in order for Sable to restart oil transportation through the pipelines. That lawsuit remains ongoing.