Shipping News August 2022

 SHIPPING NEWS

Searsport/Bucksport Shipping News  August 2022

A bimonthly column by Ethan Andrews for Village Soup News, from 2017 to early 2019.  (Andrews currently writes for   FreePressonline.com)   He chronicles the  arrivals of bulk cargo and  tanker ships  at Searsport and Bucksport Maine,  their liquid and solid cargoes and their origin. 

Aug 12-22, 2022

August 12  Acadian, a 600-foot Irving Oil tanker, arrived in Bucksport and delivered 45,000 barrels of jet fuel.

August 14 Arneborg, a 469-foot general cargo ship, arrived in Searsport from Sundsvall, Sweden, via Albany, N.Y., and delivered baled wood pulp. It sailed August 16 for Wilmington, Delaware.

August 15 East Coast, a 600-foot Irving Oil tanker, arrived in Searsport from Saint John, N.B., home of the Irving Oil refinery, and delivered gasoline and diesel. It sailed later that day for Portland.

August 22 Kristy Ann, a tug with fuel barge, arrived in Searsport from Perth Amboy, N.J., and delivered ethanol.

Iver Prosperity, a 603-foot Irving Oil tanker, arrived in Searsport from Portland and delivered heating oil.

Expected Arrivals September 1 – Finnborg to Searsport from Sundsvall, Sweden, with baled wood pulp

Shipping news is compiled by Ethan Andrews using automatic identification system (AIS) data from marinetraffic.com, local sources and direct observation at ports.

Sierra Club UW attys 8/23/22 AUDIO on the Clean Water Act & how Maine DEP misuses state laws based on the CWA

On August 23rd 2022, Sierra Club held an online "Community Conversation" (links to audio below) featuring two veteran environmental attorneys, David Losee and Charlie Bering. 

Each  gave  online briefings on  the history  of the federal Clean Water Act, and how Maine DEP and its Board of Environmental Protection have developed strategies to get around the law when reviewing pollution permits sought by favored companies, for example, Nordic Aqua Farms.

Introduction by Jim Merkel, Sierra Club  5min   *  Spkr 1. David Losee 19min 20sec  *  .Spkr2  Charlie  Bering 23min 

Losee excerpt: How DEP/BEP  misuse state laws & rules to favor certain applicants & foil appellants 6min

Takeaways from their talks:  

1 This federal CWA and the state laws related to it  are adequate to the task: eliminating water pollution.  

2. Maine DEP and its Board of Environmental Protection are abusing the process:  The agency grants pollution licenses to favored applicants like Nordic Aquafarms  even when they know the applicant cannot meet required  pollution limits. How?   The discharger-wannabees must promise to meet the requirements  later, once their salmon tankfarm is operating at full capacity.

3. Maine's  Board of Environmental Protection likewise abuses the law. How?  By deciding not to review the whole pollution application  but just some parts of it.  Big Problem: the parts that BEP does NOT consider - cannot later be raised in a court appeal.  

For Example in Nordic's case, DEP and the Board of Environmetal "Protection" decided before the BEP hearing that, among other things, none of the  climate concerns raised (in detail by environmental attorneys would  even be considered in its review. This despite the state recently adopting the very Climate Goals and water quality goals that DEP and its Board decided to ignore.

In essence, exempting  Nordic aquafarm  from the Clean Water Act and such related state laws  as the Site Law  and NRPA.

Sigh.