Casco says 'No' to tar sands pipeline
Casco on Saturday became the first Maine municipality to oppose the transportation of tar sands oil through an ExxonMobil pipeline extending from Portland to Montreal.
The town's residents put the measure on the ballot in November with a petition of 340 signatures, according to the Portland Press Herald.
The pipeline runs through the town and 50 other municipalities in Maine, New Hampshire and Vermont. In Burlington, Vt., the city council passed two resolutions opposing the pipeline last month.
According to Current Publishing, supporters of the resolution said use of the pipeline for the corrosive tar sands would pose unpredictable health and environmental risks to the community.
Currently, oil flows from South Portland to Montreal in the pipeline. If used to transport tar sands oil, the flow would be reversed. In April of last year, a spokesman for the Portland-Montreal Pipe Line told Mainebiz that there are no immediate plans to start transporting tar sands through the pipeline, but the company continues to evaluate the option.
Larry Wilson, the company's CEO, maintained that position in late November while speaking to a New Hampshire town, according to The Berlin Daily Sun.
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