Tar sands moratorium scrapped in favor of more study
The Legislature's Environment and Natural Resources Committee decided Monday to rewrite a bill calling for a two-year moratorium on the transportation of "tar sands" oil in Maine, opting instead to draft a resolution urging state officials to expand a Department of Environmental Protection study already under way.
According to the Sun Journal, the bill's author, Rep. Ben Chipman, I-Portland, revamped LD 1363 after hearing from the Maine Attorney General's Office that a moratorium could conflict with federal law.
The newspaper reported that DEP will consider all possible modes of moving the tar sands oil -- including pipelines, trains, ships and tanker trucks -- and would assess the state's ability to handle potential spills. The DEP has until Jan. 31 to report back to the Legislature.
Concerns over tar sands emerged in Maine last year, following a Canadian court decision denying a request from Montreal Pipe Line Ltd., owned partially by Canadian giant Suncor Energy, to construct a pumping station near the Quebec-Vermont border that could be used to reverse the flow of oil, which currently runs from South Portland to Montreal. The company also has repeatedly said it has no immediate plan to do so, but would consider reversing the flow of the pipeline to bring oil sands crude from Canada to the port in South Portland.
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