Portland City Council to Vote This Evening on Policy Modeled after Commitments Already Made by 18 Major Corporations Press Release Portland, Maine—Portland Mayor Michael Brennan and City Councilor David Marshall today joined Environment Maine, the Sebago Lake Anglers Association, 350 Maine, NRCM, and others to press for passage of a new policy that would make 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.
Campaign Opposing Canadian Tar Sands Oil Comes to New England
Between the Lines radio news story Interview with Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, conducted by Melinda Tuhus On Jan. 26, hundreds of protesters are expected to converge in Portland, Maine, for what’s being billed as the largest tar sands protest in the Northeast. The impetus is what organizers Read More
Casco Passes Tar Sands Resolution
KeepMECurrent.com news story CASCO —Casco residents voted Saturday to pass a municipal resolution stating opposition to sending tar sands oil through Exxon Mobil’s Portland-Montreal Pipeline, making it the first Maine town to publicly and officially oppose the proposal, said Judy Berk, spokeswoman for the Natural Resources Council of Maine. The environmental group says the 62-year-old Read More
Casco is First Maine Town to Pass Resolution Opposing Sending Tar Sands Oil Through Town
NRCM news release Casco, ME — Casco residents voted today to pass a municipal resolution stating opposition to sending tar sands oil through Exxon Mobil’s Portland-Montreal Pipeline, making it the first 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
Maine Officials Preparing for Tar Sands Oil Spill
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
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
