PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • February 26, 2023
The Clean Air Advisory Committee delivered its final report to the City Council last week, with a renewed recommendation to more closely monitor air emissions in neighborhoods near petroleum tanks. Formed in 2019, the committee’s 2021 recommendation to move permanent air monitoring stations directly into the neighborhoods beside massive petroleum storage tanks still has not been acted on. South Portland has more than 100 tanks near homes, schools and businesses on the waterfront and in other areas. The Maine Department of Environmental Protection has said it cannot move monitoring stations into the neighborhoods because of staffing shortages, the report states. Modeling for the impacts of human exposure to tank emissions also hasn’t been conducted by regulators.