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Stop the Smokestacks and Spills!Protect South Portland’s Air, Water, Scenic Beauty,

and Property Values from Tar Sands Oil 

ExxonMobil, the majority owner of the Portland-Montreal pipeline, plans touse the 63-year-old pipeline to carry toxic tar sands oil to South Portland forexport out of Casco Bay. The plan would require building two 70-foot tallsmokestacks—the tallest in South Portland—on the pier next to iconic BugLight, as well as additional oil export-infrastructure within the city. The projectthreatens South Portland’s air quality, drinking water, treasured coast,property values, and tourist industry.

South Portland parents, property owners, health professionals, fishermen,local businesses, and other residents have come together in an effort toprotect the community by stopping the project. Our Waterfront Protection

Ordinancewould block ExxonMobil from building new smokestacks and otheroil infrastructure needed to export tar sands out of Casco Bay. Please sign

the petition to put the ordinance on the November 2013 ballot.South Portland voters, not ExxonMobil, should decide the future of our community.

The risks to South Portland are too great:

• ExxonMobil would build two towering smokestacks betweenBug Light and Spring Point Ledge Lighthouses.  The smokestacksare needed to burn off toxic pollutants as the tar sands is loaded ontotankers for export. The structures would emit dangerous pollutants

known as VOCs (volatile organic compounds). VOCs react with otherchemicals in sunlight to form ground-level ozone, known commonly assmog. Smog triggers asthma attacks as well as other respiratory andcardiovascular problems. Nearly 5,000 kids and 27,300 adults inCumberland County alone suffer from asthma, and Cumberland Countyalready has work to do to clean up improve its air quality—in 2013, thecounty received a grade of C from the American Lung Association forits smog levels. The Portland Pipeline Corp. is already the #1 source of VOCs in South Portland, and these new smokestacks would onlyincrease this dangerous air pollution. In addition to being a new sourceof local air pollution, the smokestacks, which would be highly visiblefrom important scenic locales including Bug Light, Willard Beach,

SMCC, and elsewhere, would damage the beauty of the South Portlandcoastline.

 

• The tar sands project also threatens South Portland’s drinking

water and Casco Bay.  The old pipeline cuts through Sebago Lake,which is the source of our drinking water and a favorite familydestination for generations of Mainers. Sebago Lake is so pristine thatit’s one of just a handful of drinking water supplies in the entirecountry that needs to be only minimally filtered. Tar sands pipelines

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have a history of rupturing and spilling, and when they spill, tar sandsis virtually impossible to clean up. Spills also could occur as the tarsands is loaded onto tankers and transported out of Casco Bay. A spillin Sebago Lake or Casco Bay could be a catastrophe for our drinkingwater, property values, and fisheries, and could devastate the SouthPortland economy.

• Tar sands spills are happening around the country and areproving to be far more damaging than spills of conventionaloil. Tar sands oil tends to sink in water and is extremely sticky. In thelast three years alone, there have been two massive U.S. tar sandsspills—one in Arkansas and the other in Michigan. The 2010 spill inMichigan has permanently polluted more than 30 miles of theKalamazoo River and is still being cleaned up, with costs expected totop $1 billion. More than two months after ExxonMobil’s 60-year-oldPegasus pipeline burst and spilled tar sands in a residentialneighborhood in Mayflower, Arkansas, and into a marsh on LakeConway—the state’s most popular fishing destination—residents arestill experiencing health problems, and the cleanup has only begun.

• ExxonMobil’s project is completely at odds with the plan SouthPortland residents developed to guide our city’s future. SouthPortland’s Comprehensive Plan was developed with broad input andsupport from residents across the city. The plan envisions transitioningthe Shipyard area, where Exxon’s stacks would be built, to a mixed-usearea that protects traditional marine uses while accommodatingrecreational, business, and residential uses.

• ExxonMobil has a history of spills and environmental

recklessness. The company has a terrible track record of spills,including a massive tar sands spill just months ago in Mayflower,Arkansas. We should not let ExxonMobil—the biggest of Big Oil—transport tar sands through our community for the sole purpose of increasing their profits.

Sign the petition to keep South Portland safe, thriving, and the placewe are proud to call home.

FMI contact ConcernedCitizensOfSoPo@gmail.com