Read more about tar sands in South Portland Read public comments by NRCM’s Lisa Pohlmann at final South Portland City Council vote News Release Portland—In a historic vote, the South Portland City Council last night voted 6-1 to pass the Clear Skies Ordinance to protect the city from a tar sands crude oil terminal. The 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.
Comments by NRCM at South Portland City Council Final Vote on Clear Skies Ordinance
Comments of Lisa Pohlmann, Natural Resources Council of Maine Executive Director We again would like to congratulate the City Council for its diligent and transparent management of this process. Protecting the health and well-being of the people of South Portland is an enormous responsibility. Mayor Jalbert: you and the rest of the Council have risen Read More
Stopping the Tar Sands Pipeline
Tar sands rally on Maine State Pier, January 26, 2013 Tar sands oil is the dirtiest and most climate-destructive form of oil in the world. Extracted from huge open-pit mines in Alberta, Canada, tar sands oil is 20% more carbon intensive than conventional crude oil. When it spills, it is almost impossible to clean up. Read More
Testimony to the South Portland City Council Regarding the South Portland Clear Skies Ordinance
I am here today representing the members and supporters of the Natural Resources Council of Maine, especially those who reside in South Portland. NRCM was founded by Maine people exactly 55 years ago today, and is the state’s leading environmental advocacy group, representing more than 16,000 members and supporters. I would like to commend the Read More
New Report Highlights Tar Sands Threat to Migratory Birds
Interior Department Must Declare Canada is Undermining International Wildlife Protections News Release Destructive mining and drilling practices in the heart of Canada’s boreal forest—a huge and important bird nursery—are putting millions of America’s migratory birds at risk and have already resulted in potentially hundreds of thousands of fatalities, according to an issue brief released today Read More
Citizen Leaders Stand Up to Protect Maine’s Precious Natural Heritage
For the Kennebec River, Bald Mountain and South Portland, three people are making a real difference. By Lisa Pohlmann Portland Press Herald op-ed AUGUSTA — This winter, I took my 8-year-old grandson out for an afternoon adventure in the snow-covered woods. We followed deer tracks, talked about the wood duck boxes in the marsh and Read More
The Dirty Truth About Tar Sands
By Dr. Daniel Parenteau Sun Chronicle/KeepMECurrent op-ed It is widely believed that Big Oil is pursuing a possible plan to transport tar sands oil through some of the most important natural and cultural landscapes in Central Canada, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Under the plan, Enbridge’s Line 9 and ExxonMobil’s Portland-Montreal pipeline would be reversed Read More
Owner Disputes Claim that Oil Pipeline is Too Old
By David Sharp The Associated Press Portland Press Herald news story PORTLAND — One of two pipelines stretching from Portland to Montreal has surpassed its life expectancy, an environmental group said Thursday, citing court documents. The Portland Pipe Line Corp. dismissed the assertion as “grossly misleading” and said its dual pipelines can operate safely for Read More
NWF Reveals Newly Uncovered Documents Showing Montreal Pipeline Past Retirement Date
NWF/NRCM news release March 13, 2014 – According to the company that owns it, the 64-year-old pipeline that currently transports crude oil from Portland, Maine, to Montreal has already passed its projected retirement date, documents recently discovered by the National Wildlife Federation show. The Exxon-owned Portland Pipe Line Corporation (PPLC) seeks to reverse the aging Read More
