Pingree, Michaud lobby against tar sands
U.S. Reps. Chellie Pingree and Mike Michaud are among a group of regional congressional officials staking out opposition to the possible reversal of the Portland Pipe Line Corp.'s Montreal-South Portland pipeline to send Canadian tar sands oil south.
In a letter sent yesterday to Secretary of State John Kerry, 18 members of Congress requested that any plan to reverse that pipeline require a new presidential permit and a new environmental impact statement.
The letter argues that transporting tar sands through the 236-mile pipeline would change the function and environmental risk for existing pipelines, as tar sands are known to be more corrosive than conventional oil.
Company officials have said that no specific plan to reverse the pipeline is in the works but that the company is considering alternative uses for the line. Such a plan appears to have momentum, however, as officials from the province of Alberta — where the transported tar sands would originate — were in Portland Monday to meet with local officials on the topic, according to The Forecaster.
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