The California Attorney General’s Office has joined the fray in the escalating standoff between Sable Offshore Corp. and Santa Barbara County regulators — filing a sweeping lawsuit accusing the Texas-based oil company of repeated violations of state water laws while repairing its aging pipeline along the Gaviota Coast.
Filed October 3, Attorney General Rob Bonta’s complaint alleges that Sable “placed profits over environmental protection in its rush to get oil on the market,” carrying out 144 excavations between October 2024 and May 2025. The sites — including Arroyo Hondo, Arroyo Quemado, and Nojoqui Creek — cut through creeks, wetlands, and riparian corridors without authorization.
The lawsuit claims Sable “intentionally ignored its obligations under California Water Code sections 13260 et seq.” and discharged waste into “waters of the state.” At several sites, investigators said, the company “cleared vegetation and excavated and graded sediment … resulting in discharges of waste that could affect the quality of waters of the state.” Bonta’s filing also accuses Sable of misleading regulators, calling the company’s management “at best misinformed, incompetent, and incorrect. At worst, Sable was simply bamboozling the Regional Water Board to meet a critical deadline.”…