House passes Hunt Amendment to seize California park land for Sable pipeline Play

A bill that could lead to a federal takeover of California State Park land to pave the way for a Texas oil company to drill oil off the Santa Barbara coast has been approved by a one-vote margin in the U.S. House of Representatives.

The Senate also approved the annual defense appropriations bill, to which this provision has been attached, but the Senate version did not include the oil rider — called the Hunt Amendment. The Hunt Amendment is now in a conference committee.

The Hunt Amendment would allow the U.S. government to take land from California State Parks — the land where the pipeline used by Sable Offshore Oil sits near Santa Barbara. Sable Offshore is the Houston company that, according to the state, is violating California property rights and state law.

The Hunt Amendment passed 214 to 213, mostly along party lines, with Republicans in favor and Democrats against.

Salud Carbajal, the congressman representing Santa Barbara, spoke on the floor of the House. He said that at the company's request, the administration stripped California of its oversight of the pipeline and used the Defense Production Act to force it to restart operations — but apparently that was not enough. Now Sable is asking its friends in Congress to rig the system in its favor, seize California lands, and issue an irrevocable operating permit.

Carbajal said this should be an affront to anyone in California, Republican or Democrat. "This is the most blatant example of corrupt federal overreach — no one should be able to use the federal government as their personal trump card to trample on state laws and regulations for their personal profit, no matter the party, no matter the state. Unfortunately, this amendment fits a broader pattern of attacks on California by this administration."

The pipeline in question has leaked before, and the company has just told Santa Barbara officials that it is corroding from the inside out, with acid leaking out of the crude oil. Sable is currently digging up 12 sections where the pipeline may need immediate repairs, but oil is still flowing, and Sable is selling $50 million worth of oil per day through the pipeline.

The oil comes from three rusting and dangerous oil platforms more than 60 years old, at the end of their intended lives. The oil goes through the Sable pipeline through Bakersfield and down L.A.'s streets to the Chevron refinery near LAX. Park officials at Gaviota State Park have demanded that Sable remove the pipeline because the easement has expired.

The Hunt Amendment is now before a conference committee. If it is passed and the President signs it, the federal government would be allowed to seize pieces of California state land and turn them over to the oil company.