A regional Vermont environmental official says the owner of an oil pipeline between Portland, Maine, and Montreal would need a state land-use permit if the company seeks to reverse the flow of the pipeline.
The District 7 Environmental coordinator ruled Monday that an Act 250 permit would be needed in the event the Portland Montreal Pipeline seeks to carry move Canadian "tar sands oil" between Montreal and Portland.
Currently the pipeline is used to carry foreign crude oil from Maine to Montreal where it is refined for consumption in eastern Canada. Some worried the pipeline could be used to move tar sands oil to Portland.
Monday's decision reaffirmed an early ruling by the commission and came after the owner of the pipeline had asked the commission to reconsider.
