I live in one of those places. Searsport Maine had a chance to have a propane storage facility built for the cargo port there. The people (mostly elderly folks that were well past working age) fought the project with incredible venom and the business venture gave in.
"No new oil refinery has been built in the U.S. in more than 35 years. Now there are two in the works. A 20,000-barrel a day refinery in North Dakota is already under construction and on Monday a second was announced."
Link: http://247wallst.com/commodities-metals/2013/09/25/new-u-s-oil-refinery-proposed/
Think about how much traffic has increased in 35 years, and no new refineries? Have you heard about the Keystone pipeline? Resistance to tar sands oil from Canada?