(PORTLAND, Oreg.) -- Portland council approved an amendment package that will increase safety and transparency at Portland's Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub with a data-driven fuel reduction program.
The Portland City Council meeting on October 1 primarily addressed contentious amendments to the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub Policy Project and Bulk Fuel Terminal Capacity Reduction Regulations.
The amendments were sponsored by Councilors Mitch Green, Elana Pirtle-Guiney, Olivia Clark, Sameer Kanal, and Tiffany Koyama Lane.
Photo Credit: YouTube / eGov PDX
The CEI Hub is located along the Willamette River north of downtown, near Forest Park in the Linnton neighborhood in District 4, adjacent to North Portland in District 2. This stretch of industrial land contains bulk fuel terminals that store and distribute 90% of Oregon's liquid fuel.
City staff from the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability (BPS) spent more than a year incorporating feedback from industry and community stakeholders for the CEI Policy Project and the future of fuel storage for the region. BPS' original proposal was introduced to the Planning Commission, where it received additional feedback before going to the City Council for consideration.
The 'Green Pirtle-Guiney Kanal Clark Koyama Lane Two' amendment package for the Comprehensive Plan and Title 33 Zoning Code (including 8 amendments) was approved (12 Ayes).
This package included strengthening policy language on safety, resilience, environmental protection, and expanding neighborhood contact requirements for development.
A standalone amendment (Green One) to strike the 5% aviation fuel storage expansion allowance in Title 33 failed (5 Ayes, 7 Nays), meaning the exemption for aviation fuel capacity expansion remains.
Amendment Two of the Title 17 package, which sought to remove the aviation fuel exemption from bulk fuel reduction regulations, also failed (6 Ayes, 6 Nays), thereby maintaining the exemption for aviation fuel storage capacity.
Photo Credit: YouTube / eGov PDX
The remaining Title 17 amendments (Amendments One, Three, Four, and Five) were approved (10 Ayes, 2 Nays). These include directives for future work on regulating fill levels, enhanced annual reporting requirements for terminals to the City and Council, and refined penalty language.
The councilors who sponsored the amendments made comments via a press release following the meeting.
"The CEI Hub is a top public safety issue for Portlanders. Today, we took a major step forward in addressing the environmental and safety concerns at the CEI Hub that neighborhood advocates and experts have been raising the alarm on for years," Councilor Mitch Green said. "Our amendments significantly improve both the safety at the hub, our commitment to our environmental and climate goals, while also modeling how to do community-driven policy making.”
"I've been advocating for a safer CEI Hub for years – as a Northeast Portland resident, at the State level, and now, as a Portland City Councilor," Councilor Elana Pirtle-Guiney said. "Too much time has gone by while leaders debate the issue, and we must ensure we don't miss another opportunity to act – the exact type of action that our new form of government was designed for."
"I really just want to say: It's about time," Councilor Koyama Lane said. "I know we're coming in late on this. Experts and advocates have been fighting for these protections for years. I'm so grateful for them, and for my colleagues who are treating this with the seriousness it deserves. I also recognize we still have a lot more to do to keep our communities and our beautiful environment safe."
"The CEI Hub represents a potential disaster of enormous scale to the entire region. Inaction is not an option," Council Vice President Clark said. "I especially want to thank the tireless advocates in Linnton, an isolated community on the edge of District 4, for championing the stronger safety and resiliency standards that we passed today."
"Today's vote reflects what can be achieved when we co-create policy with communities," Councilor Kanal said. "These amendments strengthen the CEI Hub Project Plan, increase accountability, and put us on a path to meaningfully reduce environmental and safety risks for North Portlanders."
The council will hold a final vote on the proposal with the added amendments in the coming weeks.
If you would like to comment on this report, please email me at rory.h@lead4earth.org
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