MAINE PUBLIC • July 2, 2021
The administration of President Joe Biden has submitted a legal filing that supports South Portland's local authority to prohibit the loading of crude oil onto tankers in its harbor. The city created a Clear Skies Ordinance in 2014 to block oil companies from building a tar sands export terminal. The Portland Pipe Line Corporation has challenged the ordinance, saying it's preempted by federal law. But in a filing submitted to the US First Circuit Court of Appeals on Monday, the federal government disagreed with that argument.