The Portland Pipe Line Corp. dropped its fight against the city’s Clear Skies Ordinance, ending a more than 6-year battle in federal courts.

This article by Kelley Bouchard was published July 15, 2021 in Portland Press Herald.

SOUTH PORTLAND — The city has prevailed in the lawsuit brought by the Portland Pipe Line Corp., ending more than six years of federal litigation over a local law that blocks the company from reversing the flow of its World War II-era oil pipeline to bring crude from Canada to Maine.

The company gave up the fight Thursday, filing an agreement with the 1st U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals to voluntarily dismiss its appeal of a previous federal court judgment that upheld the city’s Clear Skies Ordinance.

Passed by the City Council in 2014, the ordinance prohibits bulk loading of crude oil into marine tanker vessels on the city’s waterfront, and its survival of federal court scrutiny is seen as precedent-setting by many.

“I applaud the decision by Portland Pipe Line, which will allow both them and our community to move forward,” Mayor Misha Pride said in a written statement. “I am proud of our community for having the fortitude to stand up for what we believed to be right, and to invest the time and financial resources necessary to defend ourselves. That effort has now finally paid off.”

The dismissal follows the city’s victories in U.S. District Court in Portland and the Maine Supreme Judicial Court, as well as an amicus brief filed by the Biden administration last month supporting the city’s stance that the ordinance doesn’t violate the Constitution, federal laws or foreign policies.

Under the terms of the two-page agreement, the company and the city will pay their own court costs, and the company gave up the right to pursue the appeal further in the future.

The city has spent $2.8 million fighting the lawsuit,

including $174,529 in private donations from residents, organizations and others. The city is represented by Foley Hoag of Boston and Jensen Baird of Portland.

“We commend the City Council for having the courage and commitment to defend its principles and its Clear Skies Ordinance against an aggressive challenge,” said Jonathan Ettinger, a partner at Foley Hoag and lead attorney on the case. “This case confirms that state and local governments may exercise important police powers to regulate oil pipelines and terminals to protect air quality, public health, scenic vistas and quality of life.”

Chris Gillies, president of the pipeline company, said its parent company decided to voluntarily dismiss the appeal because it has no current plans to reverse the flow of the pipeline to bring crude from Montreal to South Portland.

See the full article HERE.

Photo credit: “Portland-Maine-Cityscape-Skyline-Downtown-Panorama” by Captain Kimo is licensed under CC BY-NC-ND 2.0