No one wants an accident. Nonetheless, accidents happen. I’m sure we all remember the BP oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico. If you talk to the fishermen there, I doubt they would say everything is back to normal. Maybe I am wrong. We all learned about the devastation of an oil spill. But that was only oil. Most of us cannot even imagine the horror of a tar-sands oil accident.

It happened in Michigan three years ago and they are nowhere near cleaned up. It happened more recently in Arkansas. But access to the area blocked, no media allowed, no observers to bear witness have not prevented stories coming out. And the news they bring is devastating.

We need to pay attention here in South Portland. Currently, South Portland is where the oil pipeline begins. This is where the tar-sands oil pipeline would end if it were reversed. And before the tar-sands oil would reach South Portland, it would go right by our major drinking water supply. It’s just not worth the risk. Accidents do happen. The Waterfront Protection Ordinance will protect us from that happening. That’s why I am going to vote for it.

L. M. Tate

South Portland