Response to today’s Oil Sands Spill Training Workshop in Portland, ME NRCM Press Release “We commend the officials at the EPA, Maine Department of Environmental Protection (DEP), U.S. Coast Guard, and others who have organized today’s tar sands training in Portland[1]. Today’s training is focused on preparing for tar sands oil spills because they know 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.
Pipeline Application Means “Dirtiest Oil on the Planet” is Headed to New England’s Doorstep
Groups call on U.S. State Department to require full environmental review of cross-border tar sands pipeline proposal, before it is too late Press Release Canada’s mega-oil pipeline company Enbridge filed an application today to move forward on the reversal of its Line 9 pipeline, likely bringing tar sands oil eastward to Montreal. If approved, this would Read More
ExxonMobil is Actually Majority Owner of Maine Pipeline and Behind Plan to Transport Dangerous Tar Sands
Pipeline companies lobby tar sands plan behind closed doors while denying their intention NRCM, NWF, NRDC, Sierra Club Maine, Environment Maine, 350.org Portland, Maine—A new analysis released by NRDC, NWF, and other environmental groups shows that ExxonMobil is the majority owner of the pipeline that cuts across Maine and New England—a pipeline that is the Read More
On Anniversary of Julie N Accident, a Warning on Pipeline Proposal
Portland Press Herald op-ed Sept. 27, 1996, was a fateful day in the history of Portland Harbor. It was almost eight years after the Exxon Valdez oil spill. On that day, the oil tanker Julie N hit the former Million Dollar Bridge, punching a 30-foot hole in the tanker’s side and spilling 93,198 gallons of Read More
The Folly of Tar Sands Oil in Existing Pipelines in Maine
by Merrylyn Sawyer Bangor Daily News op-ed Recently three separate articles have appeared in the Bangor Daily News concerning tar sands oil and the possible use of the present pipeline that runs between Portland, Maine, and Montreal, known as the Portland Pipe Line. One article mentioned that the Montreal Pipe Line Ltd. and the Enbridge Read More
Mainers Rally on Anniversary of Worst Tar Sands Spill in History; Oppose Risky Tar Sands Oil in Maine
NRCM press release Maine citizens are turning out across Maine this week to oppose an emerging plan to pump dirty tar sands oil from Ontario, Canada through a pipeline in the beautiful lakes region in southwestern Maine to Portland, Maine where it would be shipped out by supertankers. The four rallies coincide with the two Read More
Report Sounds the Alarm on Tar Sands Pipeline Scheme in Central Canada and New England
Broad coalition highlighting threats to Maine, New Hampshire, Vermont, Quebec, and Ontario from tar sands pipeline proposals PORTLAND, MAINE — A controversial new pipeline plan threatens drinking water and many beloved natural areas in Maine and across New England and Central Canada according to a new report released today. A broad coalition of 19 organizations Read More
As Trains Start to Carry Crude Oil Across Maine, Environmentalists Start to Worry
by Kevin Miller, staff writer Bangor Daily News news story The modern-day oil boom in the western U.S. and Canada is fueling interest in shipping crude oil by rail across Maine to a refinery in the Maritimes. But the prospect of long trains of oil-filled tanker cars rumbling through Maine also has state environmental officials Read More
Pipeline Company Enbridge Announces Massive Pipeline Expansion
Reveals True Intentions to Bring Tar Sands Oil Toward Maine NRCM press release Last night Canadian pipeline giant Enbridge announced plans for a massive increase in pipeline capacity to bring dirty tar sands oil from Canada to global markets via the United States. One of the biggest components of the plan is to reverse the Read More
