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Proposed rules would require more monitoring of emissions from petroleum tanks in Maine

A man walks on an athletic track in the shadow of massive oil tanks owned by the Portland Pipe Line Corp., Thursday, April 22, 2021, in South Portland, Maine. President Joe Biden committed the United States to cutting emissions by up to 52% by 2030 at a virtual Earth Day summit.
Robert F. Bukaty
/
AP
A man walks on an athletic track in the shadow of massive oil tanks owned by the Portland Pipe Line Corp., Thursday, April 22, 2021, in South Portland, Maine. President Joe Biden committed the United States to cutting emissions by up to 52% by 2030 at a virtual Earth Day summit.

Environmental groups and some South Portland residents are urging state lawmakers to quickly pass new rules requiring more stringent monitoring of emissions from petroleum storage tanks.

On Tuesday, the Legislature's environment and natural resources committee held a hearing on approving the new rules, which would require air monitoring and frequent analysis around many facilities.

The regulations are the result of a bill passed two years ago, partly in response to concerns about the health effects of oil tank emissions in South Portland. A federal consent decree in 2019 revealed that an oil storage facility in South Portland had violated the Clean Air Act for more than a decade.

The new rules would require many tanks to install a "fenceline" monitoring system, which would measure emissions around the facility, collecting and analyzing data every two weeks.

Democratic State Sen. Anne Carney said that data would offer crucial details to determine any potential health effects of those emissions on local residents.

"The fenceline monitoring will gather data identifying what emissions members of the community living, working, and going to school near these facilities are being exposed to," Carney said.

No one testified against the rules. But business groups told the committee that current data showed no harmful emissions from tanks in South Portland.

"Data that has been accumulated, that's out there for public consumption, has not demonstrated excessive levels for these various chemicals in the environment," said Dan Walker, a lawyer representing the company Global Partners LP.

There are about 120 storage tanks in South Portland. Others are in Hermon, Bucksport, and Searsport.

The rules would go into effect about six months after approval by the full Legislature.