Wright invokes Defense Production Act to override California, restart Sable oil pipelines

On March 13, 2026, President Trump signed an executive order delegating his authority under the Defense Production Act of 1950 to Energy Secretary Chris Wright. That same day, Wright issued a "Pipeline Capacity Prioritization and Allocation Order" directing Sable Offshore Corp. to restart the Santa Ynez Unit and the Santa Ynez Pipeline System, which run from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station off the Santa Barbara County coast.

The pipelines had been shut since the 2015 Refugio oil spill and remained subject to California regulatory approval before any restart. By invoking a national-defense statute, the administration overrode the state hold and the pipeline-safety re-certification process that state law conditioned on reopening the lines. Oil resumed flowing on March 14, 2026, with the operator reporting an expected gross rate exceeding 50,000 barrels per day.

California Attorney General Rob Bonta sued days later, describing the order as executive overreach that purported to authorize illegal oil transportation through state-regulated pipelines. The order parallels a separate June 4, 2026 DPA invocation directing roughly $700 million to the coal industry — together suggesting a pattern of stretching the statute's national-defense powers to advance fossil-fuel priorities and bypass statutory and state limits.

Updates

2026-08-19 — Judge upheld the DPA order, fined Sable over the restart [5, 6]

U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson (C.D. Cal.) denied California's request to block Sable's pipeline operations, ruling in California v. Wright (No. 2:26-cv-03396) that the DPA order preempts enforcement of conflicting state law, including the state's trespass claim, and that the statute grants broad immunity to companies following a presidential production directive. The ruling also modified the 2020 consent decree governing the pipeline, shifting regulatory oversight from California state authorities to the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration. Separately, Wilson fined Sable roughly $1.45 million for restarting operations in March without the state approval the consent decree required. Governor Gavin Newsom said Trump was "using this crisis of his own making" to open the California coast to oil development; a California Department of Justice spokesperson said the state was "reviewing all of our legal options."