Maine Conservation Groups Gather with South Portland Residents to Celebrate and React to Tar Sands Vote

In an historic vote, the South Portland City Council last night voted 6-1 to pass the Clear Skies Ordinance to protect the city from a tar sands crude oil terminal. The city developed the ordinance after Protect South Portland's neighbor-to-neighbor campaign educated and mobilized the community against tar sands over the last year and a half. Conservation groups and South Portland residents gathered to reflect, stating that the victory shows that citizens can overcome out-of-state oil interests. It provides a telling example of how local communities threatened with local impacts of tar sands are saying "No."

"We may be a small city, but, boy, we've done a big thing tonight! The Clear Skies Ordinance protects our air, our coast, and our community," said Mary-Jane Ferrier, spokesperson for Protect South Portland. "We are absolutely thrilled, relieved, and exhausted. Of course, we know it may not be over yet, and we're committed to defend this victory from oil industry attacks."

The Clear Skies Ordinance prohibits the bulk loading of tar sands onto tankers on the waterfront and forbids the construction of infrastructure for that purpose. Bulk loading of tar sands would increase air pollution, including volatile organic compounds and hazardous air pollutants, on the waterfront and surrounding the tanks next to schools and throughout the community. Two 70-foot tall combustion smokestacks on the pier next to Bug Light, such as those previously permitted by the city and state for bulk loading of tar sands, would harm scenic views and property values.

"Last night's victory shows that no one is above the democratic process, and when out-of-state oil interests try to throw their weight around to pollute a Maine town, we know how to say 'no.'" said Dylan Voorhees, Clean Energy Director of the Natural Resources Council of Maine. "More broadly, communities everywhere are waking up to the fact that tar sands are a dirty, toxic energy source."

"Last night citizens working to protect their community prevailed over Big Oil. It is a true David versus Goliath victory," said Environment Maine's Taryn Hallweaver. "The oil industry is not invincible, and the exploitation of tar sands is not inevitable. From Nebraska to Maine, citizens are standing up, and powerfully so, to protect their communities--and we are winning. We're hopeful that South Portland's action will empower other communities threatened by new tar sands infrastructure to protect themselves."

South Portland has been at the center of a battle over tar sands for more than a year, in reaction to the possibility of tar sands coming to the port city from Canada, as has been discussed by the oil industry. South Portland is the only U.S. city on the east coast with a deep-water port and that is connected to a crude oil pipeline. The American Petroleum Institute and its allies spent $750,000 last fall (https://environmentmainecenter.org/sites/environment/files/reports/EnvME_big_oil_scrn.pdf) to narrowly defeat a citizen's initiative the block the tar sands terminal by attacking it as overly broad.