by Norton Lamb and Dylan Voorhees, Natural Resources Council of Maine American Journal op-ed There is a vast volume of tar sands oil being mined in the center of Canada, and Big Oil is anxious to get it to a coast so it can ship this dirty fuel to lucrative global markets. These oil companies Read More
Tar Sands Oil
Tar sands oil is the dirtiest and most climate-destructive form of oil in the world. When it spills, it is almost impossible to clean up. There was a proposal to bring tar sands oil through an existing nearly 70-year-old pipeline in Maine. It crosses some of Maine’s most pristine watersheds and ends at Casco Bay. This plan would have put our lakes, rivers, and coastal waters at risk, and threatened communities and drinking water from Sebago Lake along its path. NRCM was the first organization to bring the threat of tar sands to the public’s attention in Maine in 2009, and was a leader on this issue statewide.
Tar sands oil is one of the dirtiest forms of energy on the planet and is a growing threat in Maine and the Northeast. Extracted from huge open-pit mines in Alberta, Canada, tar sands oil is 20% more carbon intensive than conventional crude oil.
Sending tar sands crude oil to Maine would have required reversing an existing pipeline owned by Portland Montreal Pipe Line, a pipeline that passes next to Sebago Lake, the drinking water supply for more than 15% of Maine people. It would have endangered Casco Bay and our fishing and lobster industries. Many Maine cities and towns passed resolutions in opposition to transporting tar sands oil through their communities, and South Portland passed the Clear Skies Ordinance to protect their community.
On 3rd Anniversary of Massive Tar Sands Spill: Mainers Rally
Urge Senator Collins to Join King, Michaud, Pingree, and Call for Full Environmental Review of Tar Sands Pipeline NRCM news release Today, on the third anniversary of the nation’s largest and most expensive oil pipeline spill, Mainers rallied at the Portland Water District headquarters, carrying signs and dressed in black to symbolize an oil spill. Read More
Otisfield Passes Resolution Opposing Sending Tar Sands Oil Through Town and Region
NRCM news release Otisfield, ME — Otisfield residents voted overwhelmingly at town meeting Saturday to pass a municipal resolution stating opposition to sending tar sands oil through ExxonMobil’s Portland-Montreal Pipeline, making it the seventh Maine town to publically and officially oppose the proposal. The 63-year-old pipeline, which stretches 236 miles from Montreal to South Portland, Read More
South Portland Voters Likely to See Ordinance to Block Tar Sands on November Ballot
By Seth Koenig, BDN Staff Bangor Daily News news story SOUTH PORTLAND, Maine —A group hoping to block transportation of so-called tar sands oil through South Portland — one end of the Portland-Montreal Pipeline — have gathered four times the number of signatures needed to put a prohibitive new ordinance on the November ballot. If Read More
Enough Signatures Collected
by Jack Flagler, Staff Writer The Sentry news story SOUTH PORTLAND – A group of South Portland residents hoping to block the transport of tar sands oil from Canada to Maine say they have collected enough signatures to include a citizens’ initiative on city ballots this November. The group, Concerned Citizens of South Portland, announced Read More
Harrison Passes Resolution Opposing Tar Sands Oil
by Leslie Dixon, staff writer Sun Journal news story HARRISON — Voters at Tuesday’s annual town meeting approved a resolution expressing their concern and opposition to any form of processed tar sands being piped through the town. The vote was 156-59. Harrison became the sixth town in Maine, including Bethel and Waterford, to oppose the Read More
Harrison Residents Pass Resolution Opposing Sending Tar Sands Oil Through Town
NRCM news release Harrison, ME — Harrison residents voted 156-59 Tuesday to pass a municipal resolution stating opposition to sending tar sands oil through ExxonMobil’s Portland-Montreal Pipeline, making it the sixth Maine town to publicly and officially oppose the proposal. The 62-year-old pipeline, which stretches 236 miles from Montreal to South Portland, is being considered Read More
New Effort Seeks to Block Tar Sands Oil Export from South Portland
A citizens group says they will try to change a zoning law to prevent Canadian tar sands oil from being pumped through the city and prohibit building new infrastructure to process it. by Matt Byrne, staff writer Portland Press Herald news update SOUTH PORTLAND—A citizen group opposed to the prospect of Canadian tar sands oil Read More
Maine Legislators Turn Down a Ban on Tar Sands
Committee members instead endorse a bill that would require more study of issues related to the fuel. by North Cairn, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story AUGUSTA — A legislative committee voted unanimously Monday to reject a proposed two-year moratorium on any transportation of tar sands oil in Maine, deciding instead to have the Read More
