Santa Barbara County Hikes Fees for Oil Operator After Restart
The Santa Barbara County Board of Supervisors approved an increase in mitigation fees for Sable Offshore Corp. after it restarted oil production on Platform Harmony, located off the Gaviota Coast.
The county implemented the Coastal Resources Mitigation Fund fees as a condition of permits going back to the 1980s. The fund is used to award grants to nonprofits and other groups doing coastal projects.
Sable took over the Santa Ynez Unit offshore platforms in 2024 and restarted partial operations around March. As a result, county staff reassessed the annual fee from $132,750 to $318,600 for the facility's operating cycle of 2023-2027.