Dirty tar sands oil would flow through proposed pipeline for sale overseas

As Congress went back to work this week, Congresswoman Chellie Pingree said she would vote against a Republican bill that would let the TransCanada Corporation bypass environmental permitting requirements to build the Keystone XL Pipeline.

"This is a bad deal for the environment and a bad deal for Americans," Pingree said. "It gives the TransCanada Corporation a free pass on environmental permits to build a tar sands pipeline right through the middle of the country. And much of that oil won't even end up here in the U.S. but end up getting piped through the country on the way to being exported overseas."

The bill gives a special deal to the TransCanada Corporation, effectively exempting TransCanada’s Keystone XL tar sands pipeline from all federal permitting requirements, including requirements that apply to every other construction project in this country.

The bill also exempts TransCanada from paying into the Oil Spill Liability Trust Fund, which all other crude oil companies must pay into to help pay for future oil spills.

Pingree has been a longtime critic of the Keystone Pipeline proposal, as well as potential proposals to reverse the flow of the Portland Montreal Pipeline to bring tar sands oil to ships in Portland Harbor.