Zenith Energy is seeking an Air Contaminant Discharge Permit from DEQ to continue its operations at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub
Portland climate advocates are ramping up pressure at the state level, asking leaders to deny a key permit to Houston-based fossil fuel company Zenith Energy.
Over 50 people gathered at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, or DEQ office, demonstrating and providing public testimony to the Environmental Quality Commission on Nov. 17.
"No corner of this country is safe from the terror of fossil fuels," Niomi Markel, Youth Climate Strike logistics lead, said as organizers wrote messages with sidewalk chalk in the DEQ courtyard. "I dream of a day when Portland can actually be considered a climate refuge, and that won't happen if this permit is approved and we continue to expand fossil fuel infrastructure in the city."
Zenith Energy is seeking an Air Contaminant Discharge Permit from DEQ, allowing it to continue its operations at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, in North Portland's Linnton Neighborhood. The city of Portland granted Zenith a Land Use Compatibility Statement, or LUCS, in Oct. 2022 — a stamp of approval necessary to apply for the Air Contaminant Discharge Permit.
Public records revealed city officials met with Zenith staff and its PR firm Pac/West for months while the parties were in an ongoing legal battle over the previously denied LUCS, Street Roots reported in August. The Portland City Auditor's Office opened an investigation into Zenith for potential lobbying violations in September.
NEWS: Newly obtained records show Portland officials’ private interactions with Zenith Energy
A coalition of 34 environmental advocates, led by local climate advocacy nonprofit Breach Collective, signed a letter asking DEQ to use its legal authority to reassess the legal sufficiency of the LUCS on Nov. 14. DEQ asserts the city has the sole authority to make land use decisions.
"We don't typically get a lot of insight," Lauren Wirtis, DEQ communications manager, said. "We get an approval document or a denial, and then we just move to the next step. But cities are the ones that have the authority to say whether or not something can happen."
Alongside a small coalition of environmental advocates, Breach Collective sent an initial letter to DEQ on Aug. 21, outlining Oregon law giving DEQ the distinct authority to deny the permit if it finds a local LUCS process was legally insufficient.
"Pursuant to Or. Admin. R. 340-018-0050(2)(a)(C), if DEQ 'concludes a local government LUCS review and determination may not be legally sufficient, the Department may deny the permit application and provide notice to the applicant,'" the letter said.
The Environmental Quality Commission is a five-member panel appointed by the governor, serving as the policy and rulemaking board for DEQ, according to its website. Advocates hope their testimony will pressure the Environmental Quality Commission to force DEQ to reassess the city's permit process, and they want Gov. Tina Kotek to ensure DEQ uses its authority as well.
The governor has instructed her team to monitor DEQ’s review of the permit application and land use compatibility statement, according to Anca Matica, Kotek's press secretary.
"It is our understanding that no appeals to the land use compatibility statement have been filed at this time with the Land Use Board of Appeals," Matica said.
Zenith sued the city of Portland in 2022 over its initial denial of the LUCS. The Land Use Board of Appeals was the state review body overseeing the lawsuit as city officials met with Pac/West.
For local youth, the stakes are high. Elouan Grimm, 12, provided testimony to the Environmental Quality Commission board, saying Zenith's operations are dangerous, and his future is in the balance.
"Please deny the permit request," Grimm said. "My house is near the blast zone, and my grandma's house is too. This is my future, and I would not like it to not be blown to bits by bomb trains or polluted by toxic chemicals.
"For the sake of Portland, humans, and the planet Earth, stop Zenith."
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