After 75 years, an oil pipeline from the U.S. to Canada has been shut down. The 236-mile-long pipeline carried oil from the Port of Portland to refineries in Montreal.
It was originally built to provide for the safe transport of crude oil to Quebec when German U-boats were sinking oil tankers in the western Atlantic. However, the amount of oil flowing through the pipeline had been declining for years and finally the flow hit zero in January with no tanker deliveries in February.
Also, a major pipeline reversal project in Canada was completed last year, thus leaving the pipeline of no use. Experts say if anything, the pipeline could be used to move tar sands oil from Canada and North Dakota to Portland Harbor to be delivered to East Coast refineries and overseas.
But there’s another legal matter. The city of South Portland where the pipeline ends put a ban in place on the export of oil through the city. It cited environmental concerns so the Portland Pipeline Corp. sued in federal court. The case is pending.