PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • September 17, 2020
The latest battle in a legal case spanning five years between the city of South Portland and the Portland Pipe Line Corp. may ultimately boil down to the definition of one word: order. That was a key point of discussion during opening arguments between both parties before the seven justices of the Maine Supreme Judicial Court on Wednesday morning. The city is arguing against the oil pumping operation, staying that it creates an environmental hazard. The core of the state-level argument, discussed Wednesday morning, surrounds a law within the Maine Coastal Conveyance Act that indicates nothing can stop the city from having such an ordinance, as long as the ordinance is not “in direct conflict with … any rule or order” issued at the state level.