Detail: Coal power plant, Canva
August 26, 2025 (Portland, ME) – The Portland City Council has voted to adopt an ordinance that will phase out coal storage in the city and require stricter controls on harmful coal dust emissions. Residents and businesses have long expressed concerns about the health impacts from the spread of coal dust from an uncovered 45,000-ton coal pile near the city’s West End.
“Portland has long been a clean energy and climate leader in Maine, but the presence of the state’s last coal pile was a glaring contradiction,” said Sean Mahoney, Conservation Law Foundation’s Vice President for Maine. “This victory belongs to the people of Portland. Community members saw a threat to their health and environment and took action: organizing, gathering signatures, and demanding change. We are grateful for the city council’s vote, which is a powerful acknowledgement of what a united community can accomplish when it stands up for clean air and climate justice.”
The coal near the city’s West End is shipped from South America by barge and stored uncovered at Sprague Energy’s Cassidy Point terminal. From there, it is transferred to rail cars and transported to a paper mill in Rutland, Maine – one of the dirtiest mills in the country. Each transfer releases harmful coal dust into the air, blanketing nearby homes and vehicles, and posing a serious health threat to surrounding neighborhoods.
Concerned about the continued exposure to pollution, Portland residents organized earlier this year, collecting enough signatures to place a referendum on the November ballot. CLF worked closely with community members to draft the ordinance language, which calls for the owner of the coal pile to make operational changes to reduce coal dust emissions and ultimately prohibits the storage of coal in Portland.
Instead of the measure going to voters in November, the Portland City Council stepped in and adopted the ordinance outright.
CLF experts are available for further comment.
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