Rep. Carney Testifies in Support of Better Ways to Measure, Control Oil Tank Emissions

The Maine Department of Environmental Protection is poised to challenge widely disputed federal methods of monitoring and controlling petroleum tank emissions under a bill that got its first airing before a legislative committee Friday.

Those questionable methods came to light last year when the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency filed a federal lawsuit and consent decree against Global Partners LP for Clean Air Act violations at its tank farm in South Portland.

South Portland officials and residents were in Augusta on Friday to deliver moving testimony in support of L.D. 1915, which would direct the Maine DEP to study and recommend the best ways to measure, estimate and control odors and other air emissions from oil storage tanks, loading racks and vessel off-loading facilities.