Wildlife group sues for tar sands files
The National Wildlife Federation has filed a federal lawsuit seeking files related to the proposed reversal of a pipeline to send so-called tar sands crude oil from Canada to South Portland.
Meanwhile, South Portland officials have extended a moratorium for tar sands development while continuing to draft an ordinance that would prevent such a plan from ever happening.
The Portland Press Herald reported that the wildlife group filed the suit on Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Vermont, claiming that the U.S. Department of State failed to adhere to a Freedom of Information Act request for a letter detailing a plan by Portland Pipe Line Corp. to reverse its 236-mile pipeline to send tar sands to South Portland.
Though Portland Pipe Line Corp. has stated that it currently has no plans for such a development, the company had expressed interest in a 2008 letter to the State Department before it became economically unviable. The National Wildlife Federation is seeking the release of that letter in its federal suit, with its senior counsel saying the “information is critical.”
The Forecaster reported that the South Portland City Council voted 6-1 on Wednesday to extend its moratorium on tar sands for another 180 days, giving a special committee until November to recommend a permanent ordinance that would aim to prohibit such a development.
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