About 25 people are walking the route of an oil pipeline in the Northeast Kingdom to raise awareness about potential plans to ship tar sands oil across the region.
The pipeline crosses 10 towns in northern Vermont. A pipeline executive said last winter the company is looking for new business, including using the line to ship tar sands oil east from Canada to Portland, Maine.
Andy Simon, campaign coordinator with the group 350 Vermont.org, said the goal of the march is to both celebrate the beauty of the Northeast Kingdom, and to highlight what he called the threat to the area from the pipeline.
"So we’re letting people know what the impact of tar sands development is on the people out where it’s being mined, and what the impact could be if there were a tar sands spill in the Northeast Kingdom as there was in Kalamazoo, Michigan three years ago as there was in Mayflower, Arkansas earlier this year. It’s a devastating thing to have happen to a community, especially when you’re talking about all the waterways that are in the Northeast Kingdom," Simon said.
Governor Peter Shumlin recently asked the federal government to conduct a detailed environmental review if the tar sands proposal moves forward.