"New England Has Environmental Concerns Over Canada Oil Sands"

"Canada's National Energy Board on Thursday approved a plan by the country's No.1 pipeline company Enbridge to reverse and expand its Line 9 from southern Ontario to Quebec on condition that it undertake additional work on consultation and safety."

"The project would feed refineries around Montreal and Quebec City, but would also place oil sands at the northern terminus of the Portland-Montreal pipeline, which runs through Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine. Canada's approval had been expected because the plan uses existing infrastructure, requires no new pipeline and much of the work will take place on Enbridge property or right-of-ways.

The Portland-Montreal pipeline moves oil north, but the company has said it is interested in possibly reversing its flow to provide Canadian producers a way to get their tar sands to the global market through the Portland Harbor in Maine."

Richard Valdmanis reports for Reuters March 10, 2014.