Put an End to the Dangerous Sable Offshore Drilling Project
Governor Newsom, Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, and Lauren Sanchez, Senior Climate Advisor
In 2015, a pipeline ruptured as it was moving oil from three offshore platforms along the Santa Barbara shore. The spill caused horrific damage to Refugio State Beach, closed beaches and fisheries, and killed hundreds of marine mammals and birds. Now a newly formed oil company wants to restart it.
It's time for California officials to put an end to this dangerous plan.
The failed pipeline poses enormous safety and environmental risks. If it restarts, it will transport oil, putting Santa Barbara at risk, polluting the California coast, and endangering rare blue and humpback whales who migrate through the nearby channel.
With the Trump administration promising to “drill, baby, drill,” Gov. Gavin Newsom must boldly lead the way to securing a future for wildlife, the ocean, and the climate — and that means saying no to Big Oil.
Urge Gov. Newsom to act now to protect the coast.
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To:
Governor Newsom, Wade Crowfoot, Secretary of the California Natural Resources Agency, and Lauren Sanchez, Senior Climate Advisor
From:
[Your Name]
Thank you for the work you've done so far to stand up to the fossil fuel industry and the Trump administration’s “drill, baby, drill” policies. Under your leadership we can move toward ending fossil fuel pollution and curbing the climate crisis.
I urge you to continue these efforts by preventing the restart of the Santa Ynez Unit, a major offshore oil and gas operation off the Santa Barbara coast.
Even with a ban on oil leasing in the Pacific, the biggest threat to California’s coast is the restart of the Santa Ynez Unit, which includes three offshore oil-drilling platforms, offshore pipelines, onshore oil and gas facilities, and an onshore pipeline system. The onshore pipeline system already ruptured once, in 2015, causing one of California’s worst environmental disasters. The resulting oil spill killed hundreds of marine mammals and birds and closed beaches and fisheries.
If restarted, the project would be the largest source of greenhouse gas pollution in Santa Barbara County and a significant source of many other air pollutants that cause sicknesses like cancer and asthma.
The Santa Ynez Unit’s onshore oil and gas facilities are also located in a high-risk fire area. Two recent fires burned onto the property — the Sherpa Fire in 2016 and the Alisal Fire in 2021 — and the Refugio Fire in 2024 threatened the facility itself.
Offshore drilling and oil transport is inherently dangerous. There's no way to adequately protect people, wildlife, and coastlines if this massive oil project restarts.
I oppose plans to restart the Santa Ynez Unit. Please ensure its failed onshore pipelines, polluting facilities and offshore drilling platforms are retired and never get a second chance to spill.