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APCD details oil and gas activity as Sable facilities restart; inspectors report violations
Summary
Staff reported March 19 that Sable facilities have been restarting and the district conducted inspections and enforcement in 2025; staff recounted plugging of orphaned wells, platform decommissioning, and limits of district jurisdiction over pipelines.
The Santa Barbara County Air Pollution Control District presented a status update March 19 on oil and gas operations across the county, including recent restarts at Sable-operated facilities and enforcement activity from 2025.
Caitlyn McN, the district’s compliance division manager, said several onshore and offshore facilities have been plugged and abandoned following bankruptcies and ownership changes, and that Sable began restarting operations at Lost Flores Canyon and several offshore platforms in 2025. McN told the board that Sable recently began shipping oil from Lost Flores Canyon to Pentland Station in Kern County via the Sable pipeline network "just last Saturday," and that the district regulates emissions from stationary sources at those facilities but does not have regulatory authority over pipeline segments between facilities.
On inspections and enforcement, staff said the district conducted 16 inspections of Sable’s five regulated facilities in 2025 and issued seven notices of violation for that operator. For oil and gas sources countywide in 2025, the district recorded 126 oil-and-gas inspections, 67 violations (23 for methane leaks) and collected over $148,000 in penalties. Staff noted continued reliance on infrared (FLEIR) cameras and toxic vapor analyzers in the field and described the safety and logistical challenges inspectors face when traveling to remote onshore sites and offshore platforms.
Directors asked about differences between onshore and offshore regulation, jurisdictional limits involving pipelines, and whether the district has incentives to recognize compliant operators. Staff said the district implements its rules for onshore and offshore sources similarly but that marine vessels and mobile servicing operations for platforms raise additional mobile-source considerations, and that the district is exploring non‑monetary recognition programs to acknowledge high-performing operators.
McN closed by saying the district will continue inspections and permitting work and coordinate with other county agencies through the County’s System Safety and Reliability Review Committee.
