Maine grants announced for environmental projects

Maine grants from settlement with oil tanker company go toward land, ocean projects

• On 7:50 am EDT, Wednesday September 23, 2009

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- Fourteen grants totaling $1.9 million will go toward promoting the health of the Gulf of Maine using funds from a settlement with an oil tanker company for illegally dumping waste oil in the ocean.

Officials on Tuesday announced the recipients of the Maine grants, which will be used for land acquisition, habitat protection, marine education and fishery restoration. The awards were announced at the U.S. Attorney's office in Portland.

Under an agreement with federal prosecutors, Overseas Shipholding Group Inc. had to pay $37 million for violations in Portland; Boston; Los Angeles; San Francisco; Beaumont, Texas; and Wilmington, N.C.

Of the total, $9.2 million was earmarked for marine environmental projects. Maine's share was $1.9 million.

OSG admitted to systematically dumping hundreds of thousands of gallons of waste oil into the ocean and altering logbooks to conceal the illegal discharge.