Citing Maine’s ‘home rule authority’ to protect public health, the small city took on Big Oil, which lined up behind a company challenging its tar sands ban. By Sabrina Shankman Inside Climate News news story A federal judge has ruled that the coastal city of South Portland, Maine, did not violate the U.S. Constitution when 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. For a few years, there was a proposal to bring tar sands oil through an existing 63-year-old pipeline in Maine. The pipeline 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 threaten communities and drinking water from Sebago Lake along its path.
South Portland’s “Clear Skies” Ordinance Survives Challenge as Federal Judge Finds It Constitutional
Portland Pipe Line Corp. had sued to overturn the ordinance adopted in 2014 to prohibit the bulk loading of crude oil onto tankers on the city’s waterfront. by Randy Billings, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story A federal court ruled Friday that a South Portland ordinance prohibiting bulk loading of crude oil onto tankers Read More
June Trial Set for Lawsuit Over South Portland’s “Clear Skies” Law
by Juliette Laaka The Forecaster news story SOUTH PORTLAND — The lawsuit challenging the city’s Clear Skies Ordinance is scheduled to go to trial June 18 in U.S. District Court. The City Council transferred more than half a million dollars to the ordinance defense fund Tuesday in anticipation of the trial, and approved zoning changes Read More
Environmental Group Seeks Private Donations to Help South Portland Fight Pipeline Lawsuit
By Kelley Bouchard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story The group posts a video requesting donations as the city’s legal costs head toward $1 million in the ‘Clear Skies’ ordinance case. SOUTH PORTLAND — A local environmental group has ramped up efforts to help the city defend its so-called Clear Skies ordinance in federal Read More
NRCM Weighs In On Obama Rejection of Keystone XL Tar Sands Pipeline
Statement of Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Director, Natural Resources Council of Maine NRCM news release Today, President Obama announced that he has rejected the request from a Canadian company to build the Keystone XL oil pipeline, which would have transported tars sands oil from Alberta, Canada to the Gulf of Mexico. “Today’s announcement by President Read More
Saving Canada’s Boreal Forest
by Scott Weidensaul and Jeffrey V. Wells New York Times op-ed STRETCHING from interior Alaska across Canada to Newfoundland, and sandwiched between the prairies and the Arctic, North America’s boreal forest is a mind-boggling 1.5 billion acres in size — bigger even than the vast rain forests of the Brazilian Amazon or the Congo. And Read More
South Portland Seeks Dismissal of Suit Challenging Ban on Oil Loading in Harbor
It argues that Portland Pipe Line can’t claim damages when it says it has no plans to move tar sands crude from Canada to the city’s waterfront. By Kelley Bouchard, Staff Writer Portland Press Herald news story SOUTH PORTLAND — The city has asked a federal judge to dismiss a lawsuit by the Portland Pipe Read More
South Portland Hires Boston Law Firm to Defend Clear Skies Ordinance
by Alex Acquisto, The Forecaster staff The Forecaster news story SOUTH PORTLAND — The Boston law firm Foley Hoag will defend the city against a lawsuit filed last month by Portland Pipe Line Corp. The City Council, as expected, unanimously approved the hiring Monday night. In the nine-count lawsuit, Portland Pipe Line and American Waterways Read More
Senator Angus King Right on Keystone XL Pipeline
On behalf of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, I want to express our deep appreciation for Senator Angus King’s vital vote that blocked legislation that would have allowed construction of the Keystone XL tar sands pipeline. The pipeline would let Canadian companies pump toxic tar sands oil from Alberta, Canada, to the U.S. Gulf Coast, where Read More
