Battle nations goliath tank12/3/2023 ![]() When the City Council passed the ordinance in 2014, it sought to protect South Portland citizens from air pollution. Concerns about emissions from those smokestacks led to the creation of the so-called Clear Skies Ordinance, which banned the bulk loading of crude oil onto tankers. The plan called for the construction of a pair of 70-foot-high smokestacks next to a beloved waterfront park to burn off volatile compounds from the tar sands oil before it could be loaded into tankers. ![]() ![]() After Canada’s tar sands oil boom crippled the market for oil travelling from Maine to Montreal, PPLC saw its business dwindle.Ī plan to reverse the flow and provide a route for tar sands oil to reach global markets through the port at South Portland represented a golden egg for the company-a way to redefine its business model, provide jobs and become a linchpin for oil exports.īut it also would have come at a steep price, the grassroots group Protect South Portland argued. The pipeline company’s plan involved a 70-year-old pipeline system that currently carries conventional crude oil in the opposite direction, from a tanker facility in South Portland to refineries in Montreal. Please take a look at the new openings in our newsroom. “It’s a strong opinion, and it could result in a really significant precedent for local control on petroleum-based industries.” “For other communities looking at opposing fossil fuel infrastructure, this case is a blueprint for how you should do it,” said Patrick Parenteau, an environmental law professor at the Vermont Law School. Provided the ruling survives an appeal, it slams the door on a significant plan to ship Canadian tar sands oil, one of the most carbon-intensive fuels on the planet, to the East Coast for export to international markets, and it could offer a guide for other communities hoping to block energy projects. Constitution when it passed an ordinance that blocked a local pipeline company from bringing tar sands oil through its port.įor the city of 25,000, the ruling was a surprise victory after years of fighting what felt like an impossible battle against some of the world’s biggest oil companies, which lined up to support the Portland Pipe Line Corporation (PPLC). This ICN story was also published in the Boston Globe.Ī federal judge has ruled that the coastal city of South Portland, Maine, did not violate the U.S.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply.AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |