California Attorney General Rob Bonta filed a lawsuit Monday against the U.S. Department of Energy, seeking to block the federally mandated restart of a long-disputed offshore pipeline system.

The legal challenge targets U.S. Energy Secretary Chris Wright’s recent order to resume operations of the Sable Offshore pipeline system. 

The infrastructure connects the Santa Ynez offshore platform to state refineries but has been idle since a 2015 spill released more than 100,000 gallons of crude oil into the Pacific Ocean and onto Santa Barbara County beaches.

Wright’s order utilized the Defense Production Act, a Cold War-era law, to supersede California state laws. 

The move followed an executive order by President Donald Trump aimed at boosting domestic energy production amid global price surges fueled by the U.S.-Israeli war on Iran.

“We won’t let this outrageous federal overreach go without a fight,” Bonta said during a news conference. He alleged the restart violates state law, existing court orders, and a previous federal court settlement.

The lawsuit, filed in San Francisco federal court, asks a judge to rule the restart order unconstitutional and prohibit the Department of Energy from using it to operate the platform or its pipelines.

Sable Offshore reported it began shipping hydrocarbons from Las Flores Canyon to Pentland Station on March 14. The company expects to reach a production volume of 50,000 barrels per day by April 1.

The conflict marks the latest escalation between the Trump administration and California Governor Gavin Newsom. In a statement, Newsom accused the administration of using a self-inflicted energy crisis to benefit the oil industry.

“Now he’s using this crisis of his own making to attempt what he’s wanted to do for years: open California’s coast for his oil industry friends so they can poison our beaches,” Newsom said.

The state also has a pending lawsuit in the 9th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals challenging a federal decision to reclassify the Sable pipelines as "interstate," despite the lines running entirely between two California counties.

Spokespersons for the Department of Energy and Sable Offshore did not immediately respond to requests for comment.