The Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, or LUBA, decided the city of Portland can limit new fossil fuel storage and expansion of current storage Sept. 29, dealing a blow to local fossil fuel interests.
The decision marks the end of a seven-year battle following a challenge to Portland’s Fossil Fuel Terminal, or FFT, zoning amendments — the third such challenge since 2017.
The LUBA decision will mostly impact the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, or CEI Hub, which stores 90% of all liquid fuel in Oregon just between Forest Park and the Willamette River, including jet fuel for Portland International Airport.
“I am pleased that LUBA has validated the City Council’s adoption of reasonable limits on fossil fuel infrastructure in the name of public safety,” Commissioner Carmen Rubio said.
Rubio oversees the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability.
The city of Portland first adopted the zoning amendments Dec. 14, 2016, to limit new bulk fossil fuel storage and transport facilities to less than 2 million gallons and prohibit existing facilities from expanding.
Industry interests, including the Portland Metro Chamber (formerly known as the Portland Business Alliance) and the Working Waterfront Coalition, challenged the amendments in 2017 and again in 2019. In both cases, LUBA ruled the city needed to provide more reasoning, saying the amendment did not adequately address the city’s comprehensive plan.
In August 2022, the city adopted its third version of the FFT zoning ordinance, aligning the code changes with the 2035 comprehensive plan.
“The purpose of this ordinance is to limit the risk of damage from a catastrophic Cascadia Subduction Zone earthquake by limiting the expansion of fossil fuel storage tank capacity in an area with high susceptibility to liquefaction, while at the same time allowing the existing terminals to make safety upgrades,” the ordinance said.
The fossil fuel industry again challenged the zoning amendments, but LUBA finally upheld the city ordinance, effectively limiting the future of fossil fuel storage in Portland.
Columbia Riverkeeper intervened in the suit to support the city alongside Portland Physicians for Social Responsibility and Portland Audubon Society, and Crag Law Center represented the coalition in litigation. Audrey Leonard, Columbia Riverkeeper staff attorney, said the decision means a large-scale fossil fuel company cannot set up shop in the future, and existing storage facilities can not expand fossil fuel capacity.
“It also alleviates, obviously, the safety concerns — the real threat of having 90% of our liquid fuel stored in the same place that is really susceptible to earthquake, which protects the communities and the water quality,” she said. “It’s a model for other localities to be able to create their own ordinances that do similar things.”
The decision highlights how the city is making progress in reining in fossil fuel companies. Still, it starkly contrasts the city’s deal with Houston-based company Zenith Energy, as first reported by Street Roots in August. Zenith Energy is under investigation for potential lobbying violations after it sold Portland city officials on a plan to transition to renewable fuels within five years — a term climate advocates say is fashionable for fossil fuel companies who want to continue operations while appearing to address climate change.
Still, advocates say the decision is a big win for public health and safety.
"It's a long time coming," Leonard said.
Editor's note: A previous version of this story incorrectly attributed a quote from Carmen Rubio to her communications staff. Street Roots regrets this error.
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