A U.S. District Court judges granted preliminary approval for a $70 million class action settlement over the pipeline that ruptured and caused the 2015 Refugio oil spill. The ruling was announced May 9, 2024. A hearing for final approval is scheduled for September.
If given final approval, the settlement would require the pipeline owners to pay more than 90 property owners affected by the spill at least $50,000, with average payments of $230,000, according to the law firm representing the plaintiffs.
In 2015, Lines 901 and 903, owned by Plains All American Pipeline, LLC, ruptured and spilled 142,000 gallons of oil into the ocean near Refugio State Beach. The federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration concluded that the cause of the rupture was integrity management failures.
Celeron Pipeline Company of California built the pipelines in 1991, after concluding an agreement with property owners that allowed the company to build the pipelines on their land. Under the agreement, the pipeline owners were responsible for maintenance, repair, and operations of the 130 miles of pipeline built on private property.
Sable Offshore Corp., the current owner of the pipelines, agreed to pay the landowners and use the current easements rather than negotiating new ones.
The pipelines have been subject to ongoing legal battles. In October 2023, the company withdrew its application to build a new, replacement crude oil pipeline. It is also in litigation over its application to install 16 safety valves on the pipeline system.
Restarting the pipelines are a key part of the company’s plans to restart its Santa Ynez Unit, which consists of the three offshore platforms located in federal waters, an onshore oil processing plant located in Las Flores Canyon, and related pipeline infrastructure. Sable Offshore Corp. acquired the pipelines when it acquired the Santa Ynez Unit from ExxonMobil in February 2024 and has targeted July 2024 to restart the facilities. (Sable Offshore Corp. Looks to Restart Offshore Operations by Mid 2024.)