Federal judge affirms Trump takeover of Santa Barbara oil coast Play

A federal takeover of the beaches and ocean at the oil platforms in Santa Barbara — 65 miles up the coast from Malibu — has been affirmed by a federal judge. This as the Trump administration's relentless attack on the California coast and California environmental laws continues.

Thursday, a Republican judge on the U.S. District Court took away California's property rights and regulatory control of an oil field 65 miles up the coast from Malibu. It's a devastating ruling for the Californians trying to retire the leaky offshore oil platforms just off western Santa Barbara — that federal energy policy, as modified by President Donald Trump, overrides California environmental laws.

But also California property rights, as the state owns land under the pipelines that Sable Offshore Oil has put back into service.

In his ruling, U.S. District Judge Stephen V. Wilson also bawled out the oil company. He fined the Texans $1.5 million for violating a federal consent decree that governed how the rusting and leaky pipelines would be restarted.

$1.5 million is pocket money for the Houston oil company that was spun off and funded by Exxon-Mobil to restart oil in the ocean off Santa Barbara. They are making $46 million a month on the inflated oil market right now.

Sable is selling the crude to the Chevron oil refinery in El Segundo, through pipes that cross land owned by the state of California, without any right to trespass or permits at all. Normally, that would be illegal.

But Trump has invoked the Defense Production Act, declared an oil emergency, and seized the state land — all due to the American war with Iran.

The New York Times takes a look at what's happening — the big picture. They report that Trump has taken a series of extraordinary steps to attack California's position as a national leader in environmental protection. Political appointees are using a half-dozen federal agencies to undermine the state's efforts to pivot away from fossil fuels.

California's environmental laws have influenced the manufacturers of automobiles and other consumer goods. And its green policies have spread to some other states in what's known as the "California effect."

But President Trump has marshaled the full power of the federal government to clamp down on the state's climate initiatives. The New York Times says there are almost too many examples to list.

Trump has blocked California from setting its own limits on vehicle air pollution, which federal law has permitted since the 1970s. Trump has given $75 million for a new coal export terminal in Oakland. Trump has paid energy companies more than $2 billion to walk away from offshore wind farms that California is still counting on for green energy.

The state has filed a slew of lawsuits to try to undo the administration's actions. A spokesman for Governor Gavin Newsom says the Trump attacks are more than personal.

"Donald Trump attacks California because we are building a future that doesn't depend on fossil fuels," Anthony Martinez, a spokesman for Newsom, told the New York Times.