Trump Administration Must Produce Sable Pipeline Correspondence

Federal officials must disclose their correspondence with Sable Offshore Corp. related to permitting decisions for the company’s controversial Santa Barbara, Calif., pipeline system after a federal judge found sufficient evidence of a rushed approval process.

Judge Michelle Williams Court of the US District Court for the Central District of California on Thursday ordered the Interior Department to disclose internal deliberative materials as well as emails, texts, and other chats with the company and other agencies regarding the oil spill risk from restarting the offshore drilling operation.

Environmental groups that sued over the planned restart proved the agencies acted in “bad faith” to fast-track environmental assessments and other permits under the National Environmental Policy Act, Court said.

“Plaintiffs have presented evidence of a compressed directive to complete the EA, restart-focused coordination and approvals surrounding the Santa Ynez Unit, and post-decision statements celebrating a rapid restart,” the judge said.

The ruling comes amid reports that President Donald Trump will sign a Defense Production Act emergency order to allow Sable to pump oil through the pipelines. Last week, the Justice Department issued an opinion that the Cold War-era law authorizes the president to preempt state law and ease permitting for the system that has drawn heavy scrutiny from California state agencies for potential structural faults stemming from a 2015 oil spill.

Williams ordered all documents between April 2024 and May 2025 related to the federal Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement and Bureau of Ocean Energy Energy Management’s finding of no significant environmental impact last year. That finding formed part of the Trump administration’s rationale for federalizing of the pipeline system in order to restart it.

“The Trump administration must give us any records that reveal political meddling in decisions that enable the restart of dangerous drilling off California. I’m so glad that the court agreed,” said Kristen Monsell, the oceans legal director for plaintiff Center for Biological Diversity.

Sable didn’t immediately respond to a request for comment.

The case is Ctr. for Biological Diversity v. Burgum, C.D. Cal., No. 2:24-cv-05459, supplemental record order 3/12/26.