Controversial California Oil Pipeline Can Continue to Operate, Judge Rules The decision by Judge Stephen Wilson to allow the Sable Offshore Corporation's oil pipeline off the coast of Santa Barbara, California to continue operating has sparked outrage among environmental groups and state regulators.
The controversy surrounding this pipeline is a symptom of a larger issue: the tension between federal authority and state sovereignty in matters of energy policy.
The pipeline's history is marked by a 2015 oil spill that caused one of California's worst environmental disasters.