Could Tar Sands Oil Flow Through Vermont?

VNRC is deeply concerned about the possibility that tar sands oil from Canada could possibly be shipped through a pipeline that cuts across Vermont’s Northeast Kingdom.

VNRC was one of two U.S. environmental groups that signed on to an August 26, 2011 letter by Environmental Defence Canada to Canadian regulators expressing concern over plans to reverse current flows in pipelines in Canada to send tar sands oil eastward. It is unclear whether the proposal would send unrefined tar sands oil or some other grade of oil into the existing pipeline that crosses Vermont, New Hampshire, and Maine. The so-called Portland-Montreal Pipe Line currently sends crude oil from Portland to Montreal.

Moving heavier tar sands oil requires high pressures on pipes, and can be more corrosive than non-tar sands oil. This could lead to pipe ruptures, potentially threatening water supplies (including the Connecticut River) wildlife habitat, and public health.

In July of last year, a pipeline in Marshall, Michigan ruptured, and an estimated 819,000 gallons of tar sands oil spilled into part of the Kalamazoo River. So far, EPA has incurred $31.3 million in cleanup costs to date in that spill.

VNRC is working to learn more about this possible proposal.

Additional information:

For the EPA's briefing on the Michigan spill click here.

To view a copy of the letter sent to Canadian regulators click here.

To read a brief Burlington Free Press news story on the issue click here.