By John Balentine KeepMEcurrent.com news story PORTLAND â As a proposal to build an oil pipeline from Canada to the Gulf Coast has emerged as a contentious issue on the national political scene, a similar debate has started locally, regarding an existing pipeline that runs from the tank farms in South Portland through Westbrook and 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 has been 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 put our lakes, rivers, and coastal waters at risk, and threaten communities and drinking water from Sebago Lake along its path. The Natural Resources Council of Maine was the first organization to bring the threat of tar sands to the public’s attention in Maine in 2009, and has been leading on this issue statewide ever since.
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 require 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 could endanger 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.
Maine Environmentalists Warn of Tar Sands Pipeline
Several enviornmental groups say Maine could be affected by a proposal to move tar-sands-derived oil east from Ontario. MPBN news story Environmentalists are warning Mainers to pay attention to Canada’s desire to export more oil derived from tar sands. While President Barack Obama has blocked, for now, a proposed pipeline across the central U-S, a Read More
Will the Next Keystone Fight Happen in New England?
by Dierdre Fulton Portland Phoenix news story We may have narrowly avoided Keystone XL (for now), but local environmental activists say that Maine and New England are not safe from “the dirtiest oil on earth,” with a huge Canadian oil company seeking other routes to pump crude oil out of Alberta. The Sierra Club and Read More
Groups Speaking Out Against Proposed Canada-Maine Tar Sands Oil Pipeline
by The Associated Press Bangor Daily News news story PORTLAND, Maine â Several Maine environmental groups are speaking out against a pipeline that would carry Canadian oil across the continental United States. The Natural Resources Council of Maine, Sierra Club Maine, Natural Resources Defense Council and National Wildlife Federation are holding public events Thursday to Read More
Conservation Advocates Voice Fears about Oil Pipeline
The prospect of transporting ‘tar sands’s crude to Portland from Canada draws more than 200 to a forum at USM. By Dennis Hoey, staff writer Portland Press Herald news story PORTLAND – A pipeline accident that allows oil to get into Sebago Lake could contaminate the water supply for thousands of southern Maine residents, a Read More
Could Tar Sands Oil Be Headed to Maine?
WCSH-6 TV news story PORTLAND, Maine (NEWS CENTER) — Environmental groups in Maine are keeping a close eye on any potential plans to transport tar sands oil via a pipeline that runs from South Portland to Canada. Since 1941, Portland Pipeline has transported billions of barrels of crude oil from it’s tank farms in South Read More
Possible Tar Sands Pipeline to Portland Worries Environmental Groups
By Matthew Arco The Portland Daily Sun Environmental groups fearing that talks to pump “incredibly destructive” crude oil from Canada to Greater Portland are once again resurfacing, are opposing the project even before one is officially put in writing. The Natural Resources Council of Maine is planning to join three other environmental groups in Portland Read More
Pipeline Project Could Turn Maine Into ‘Dirty Tar Sands Oil’ Capital of the Eastern U.S.
NRCM Joins Protest of Phase I of “Trailbreaker” Pipeline NRCM news release The Natural Resources Council of Maine has joined with four other environmental organizations in an effort to block a Canadian pipeline project that could make Portland, Maine, the “tar sands capital” of the eastern United States. The groups have sent a letter that calls Read More
Dirty Energy Superhighway for Maine?
Vast boreal forestlands in Alberta, Canada, are being ripped up by the world’s largest oil companies to extract “tar sands,” in what some have called the most destructive project on Earth. These tar sands are converted into a petroleum product destined mostly for sale in the United States. Maine currently imports very little gasoline from tar Read More
