Oil interests spar with S. Portland tar sands foes
Representatives of oil companies operating out of South Portland are fighting with environmental groups over an ordinance change they said could jeopardize the petroleum industry.
The Portland Press Herald reported the environmentalists say new zoning restrictions would limit tar sands infrastructure development. But the Portland Pipe Line Corp., the Maine Energy Marketers Association and Gulf Oil made a case during a meeting Tuesday night that other petroleum distribution also would be impacted.
The proposed Waterfront Protection Ordinance would prohibit expansion of petroleum storage, distribution and pumping facilities in the city's shipyard district that supporters say would be necessary if the Portland Pipe Line Corp. should decide to reverse the flow of its Montreal-to-Maine pipeline to export tar sands oil.
The company has said it has no current proposal to reverse the flow of that pipeline, but it has not ruled out the possibility.
The companies said Tuesday they had concerns that the proposed ordinance would have impacts beyond tar sands oil, limiting other businesses dealing in petroleum products.
The planning board is set to make a recommendation to the city council in August about whether the proposed ordinance conforms to the city’s long-term planning goals.
The ordinance, which received more than 3,700 signatures from residents in June, will appear as a citizen’s initiative on the city’s ballot in November.
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