SUBSCRIBE TO OUR FREE NEWSLETTER
Daily news & progressive opinion—funded by the people, not the corporations—delivered straight to your inbox.
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
5
#000000
#FFFFFF
Is Tar Sands Crude Coming to New England?
Apr 22, 2012
While much attention has been paid to the possibility of Canada's tar sands crude coming to the U.S. via the Keystone XL pipeline, some signs indicate that Canada is quietly pushing for the crude to flow to the U.S. through a Montreal - Portland, Maine pipeline, according to Foster's Daily Democrat.
Enbridge, Inc., which has an existing pipeline running from Western Canada east, attempted to reverse the flow of tar sands crude through its pipeline in 2008 but abandoned the idea. But environmentalists on both sides of the border think the company may be renewing their plan.
In addition to reversing the flow to west-east, the company would use the existing Portland-Montreal pipeline to finish the tar sands journey into the U.S..
Enbridge has already filed a request with Canada's National Energy Board to reverse the flow in one segment of its pipeline, and the operator of the Portland-Montreal Pipeline has begun building a new pumping station.
* * *
New Hampshire Foster's Daily Democrat: Tar sands oil heading east? Controversial crude could make its way to New England via pipeline
[T]he Keystone XL pipeline isn't the onlytransportation path for tar sands oil. Oil suppliers have explored a number of ways to move the controversial petroleum product to market, including pathways through the Northeast.
One of Canada's largest pipeline operators, Enbridge, Inc., developed a plan in 2008 to reverse one of its existing lines to begin moving tar sands oil east from Western Canada, where the industry is set to boom.
Enbridge's Line 9, which starts in the western part of the country, would be capable of delivering tar sands oil to Montreal if the company reversed the flow of the entire line. [...]
To move the tar sands oil on the final leg of the journey from Montreal to Maine, the company proposed utilizing the existing Portland-Montreal Pipe Line.
PMPL stretches more than 200 miles, cutting through Vermont and northern New Hampshire. It currently transports crude in the other direction, from Maine to Montreal.
Enbridge officials have since scrapped the Trailbreaker project, citing a sour economy. But environmental groups in both Canada and the United States believe recent actions indicate the company is working to revive the proposal incrementally. [...]
Dylan Voorhees, director of the clean energy project at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which was been following the issue, worries it's only a matter of time before the pipeline operators decide to renew the project.
Voorhees said the situation is concerning because moving tar sands presents a greater risk for an oil spill than moving conventional crude oil.
Tar sands is more acidic -- and therefore more corrosive -- than conventional crude oil, and it must be transported at hotter temperatures and faster speeds, according to Voorhees.
"I think that's one of the concerns that people in New Hampshire might have, is, 'What are the resources and special places that this pipe passes through?'" Voorhees said.
An Urgent Message From Our Co-Founder
Dear Common Dreams reader, It’s been nearly 30 years since I co-founded Common Dreams with my late wife, Lina Newhouser. We had the radical notion that journalism should serve the public good, not corporate profits. It was clear to us from the outset what it would take to build such a project. No paid advertisements. No corporate sponsors. No millionaire publisher telling us what to think or do. Many people said we wouldn't last a year, but we proved those doubters wrong. Together with a tremendous team of journalists and dedicated staff, we built an independent media outlet free from the constraints of profits and corporate control. Our mission has always been simple: To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. Building Common Dreams was not easy. Our survival was never guaranteed. When you take on the most powerful forces—Wall Street greed, fossil fuel industry destruction, Big Tech lobbyists, and uber-rich oligarchs who have spent billions upon billions rigging the economy and democracy in their favor—the only bulwark you have is supporters who believe in your work. But here’s the urgent message from me today. It's never been this bad out there. And it's never been this hard to keep us going. At the very moment Common Dreams is most needed, the threats we face are intensifying. We need your support now more than ever. We don't accept corporate advertising and never will. We don't have a paywall because we don't think people should be blocked from critical news based on their ability to pay. Everything we do is funded by the donations of readers like you. When everyone does the little they can afford, we are strong. But if that support retreats or dries up, so do we. Will you donate now to make sure Common Dreams not only survives but thrives? —Craig Brown, Co-founder |
Our work is licensed under Creative Commons (CC BY-NC-ND 3.0). Feel free to republish and share widely.
While much attention has been paid to the possibility of Canada's tar sands crude coming to the U.S. via the Keystone XL pipeline, some signs indicate that Canada is quietly pushing for the crude to flow to the U.S. through a Montreal - Portland, Maine pipeline, according to Foster's Daily Democrat.
Enbridge, Inc., which has an existing pipeline running from Western Canada east, attempted to reverse the flow of tar sands crude through its pipeline in 2008 but abandoned the idea. But environmentalists on both sides of the border think the company may be renewing their plan.
In addition to reversing the flow to west-east, the company would use the existing Portland-Montreal pipeline to finish the tar sands journey into the U.S..
Enbridge has already filed a request with Canada's National Energy Board to reverse the flow in one segment of its pipeline, and the operator of the Portland-Montreal Pipeline has begun building a new pumping station.
* * *
New Hampshire Foster's Daily Democrat: Tar sands oil heading east? Controversial crude could make its way to New England via pipeline
[T]he Keystone XL pipeline isn't the onlytransportation path for tar sands oil. Oil suppliers have explored a number of ways to move the controversial petroleum product to market, including pathways through the Northeast.
One of Canada's largest pipeline operators, Enbridge, Inc., developed a plan in 2008 to reverse one of its existing lines to begin moving tar sands oil east from Western Canada, where the industry is set to boom.
Enbridge's Line 9, which starts in the western part of the country, would be capable of delivering tar sands oil to Montreal if the company reversed the flow of the entire line. [...]
To move the tar sands oil on the final leg of the journey from Montreal to Maine, the company proposed utilizing the existing Portland-Montreal Pipe Line.
PMPL stretches more than 200 miles, cutting through Vermont and northern New Hampshire. It currently transports crude in the other direction, from Maine to Montreal.
Enbridge officials have since scrapped the Trailbreaker project, citing a sour economy. But environmental groups in both Canada and the United States believe recent actions indicate the company is working to revive the proposal incrementally. [...]
Dylan Voorhees, director of the clean energy project at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which was been following the issue, worries it's only a matter of time before the pipeline operators decide to renew the project.
Voorhees said the situation is concerning because moving tar sands presents a greater risk for an oil spill than moving conventional crude oil.
Tar sands is more acidic -- and therefore more corrosive -- than conventional crude oil, and it must be transported at hotter temperatures and faster speeds, according to Voorhees.
"I think that's one of the concerns that people in New Hampshire might have, is, 'What are the resources and special places that this pipe passes through?'" Voorhees said.
While much attention has been paid to the possibility of Canada's tar sands crude coming to the U.S. via the Keystone XL pipeline, some signs indicate that Canada is quietly pushing for the crude to flow to the U.S. through a Montreal - Portland, Maine pipeline, according to Foster's Daily Democrat.
Enbridge, Inc., which has an existing pipeline running from Western Canada east, attempted to reverse the flow of tar sands crude through its pipeline in 2008 but abandoned the idea. But environmentalists on both sides of the border think the company may be renewing their plan.
In addition to reversing the flow to west-east, the company would use the existing Portland-Montreal pipeline to finish the tar sands journey into the U.S..
Enbridge has already filed a request with Canada's National Energy Board to reverse the flow in one segment of its pipeline, and the operator of the Portland-Montreal Pipeline has begun building a new pumping station.
* * *
New Hampshire Foster's Daily Democrat: Tar sands oil heading east? Controversial crude could make its way to New England via pipeline
[T]he Keystone XL pipeline isn't the onlytransportation path for tar sands oil. Oil suppliers have explored a number of ways to move the controversial petroleum product to market, including pathways through the Northeast.
One of Canada's largest pipeline operators, Enbridge, Inc., developed a plan in 2008 to reverse one of its existing lines to begin moving tar sands oil east from Western Canada, where the industry is set to boom.
Enbridge's Line 9, which starts in the western part of the country, would be capable of delivering tar sands oil to Montreal if the company reversed the flow of the entire line. [...]
To move the tar sands oil on the final leg of the journey from Montreal to Maine, the company proposed utilizing the existing Portland-Montreal Pipe Line.
PMPL stretches more than 200 miles, cutting through Vermont and northern New Hampshire. It currently transports crude in the other direction, from Maine to Montreal.
Enbridge officials have since scrapped the Trailbreaker project, citing a sour economy. But environmental groups in both Canada and the United States believe recent actions indicate the company is working to revive the proposal incrementally. [...]
Dylan Voorhees, director of the clean energy project at the Natural Resources Council of Maine, which was been following the issue, worries it's only a matter of time before the pipeline operators decide to renew the project.
Voorhees said the situation is concerning because moving tar sands presents a greater risk for an oil spill than moving conventional crude oil.
Tar sands is more acidic -- and therefore more corrosive -- than conventional crude oil, and it must be transported at hotter temperatures and faster speeds, according to Voorhees.
"I think that's one of the concerns that people in New Hampshire might have, is, 'What are the resources and special places that this pipe passes through?'" Voorhees said.
We've had enough. The 1% own and operate the corporate media. They are doing everything they can to defend the status quo, squash dissent and protect the wealthy and the powerful. The Common Dreams media model is different. We cover the news that matters to the 99%. Our mission? To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good. How? Nonprofit. Independent. Reader-supported. Free to read. Free to republish. Free to share. With no advertising. No paywalls. No selling of your data. Thousands of small donations fund our newsroom and allow us to continue publishing. Can you chip in? We can't do it without you. Thank you.
To inform. To inspire. To ignite change for the common good.
News & Opinion
Trending
Common Dreams, Inc. Founded 1997. Registered 501(c3) Non-Profit
Privacy Policy