As regular visitors to this website know, Pembina Pipeline Corporation, with roots in the tar sands of Alberta, Canada, currently has a proposal being actively considered to construct a propane terminal in the heart of Portland, Oregon, currently reputed to be one of the greenest cities in the U.S.

Propane is manufactured primarily through fracking.  Yesterday, it was announced that the injection of waste water underground, a prime ingredient of the fracking process, earned Oklahoma the dubious distinction of being the most earthquake-prone state in all the United States, ahead of California.

Portland mayor Charlie Hales is actively endorsing Pembina’s plan, which passed muster by the region’s Planning & Sustainability Commission on March 17th.  The next hurdle for Pembina is a resolution scheduled for consideration before Portland’s City Commission on April 30th.

In recognition of Earth Day 2015, which was nationally observed on Wednesday, we’ve decided to carry verbatim the following press release that was disseminated by Portland Rising Tide on April 15th:

Portland is continually winning awards for environmental stewardship and has been recognized by President Obama on climate action, yet our city has become a central hub for a fossil fuel industry that threatens our city with the label of “climate hypocrite.” Here in Portland we have dozens of companies who are heavily involved in coal mining, fracking, and tar sands as a main source of profits.

These companies frequently donate to City Council, including Steve Novick who has accepted money from Greenbrier/Gunderson, one of the largest constructors of oil railcars and coal barges in the US, and in turn advocated for coal exports to China.  Dan Saltzman and Charlie Hales have also accepted tens of thousands from the fossil fuel industry, on top of working for CH2M Hill and HDR Inc, respectively.  Both companies have an extensive portfolio of fossil fuel projects – including pipelines, refineries, and export terminals –and this City Council has a history of giving both companies contracts for municipal projects.

With the recent approval of a zoning amendment by the Planning & Sustainability Commission, Portland Rising Tide encourages City Hall to reject the Pembina propane terminal when it comes to a vote before City Council.  We need to be scaling back our fossil fuel infrastructure immediately, not promoting more catastrophic climate change from propane shipped by explosive 1.5 mile trains through Portland every other day.  This zoning code amendment would also open the floodgates for more dangerous and climate change-causing fossil fuel terminals, often with little to no public process.

This project and all other fossil fuel companies play a large role in environmental injustice that disproportionately affects poor communities and communities of color who live in the blast zones and polluted neighborhoods, as well as indigenous communities near the source of fracking and tar sands where the propane is sourced.  “Growing up in poverty, you kind of get first-hand knowledge of the effects of environmental harms. We all share stories of bad fish, building materials, lead, and air quality.  Blacks are often aware that these things are making us sick, though we don’t always have access to the tools needed to protect our communities from policy that allow these pollutants,” says Teressa Raidford, lead organizer of Don’t Shoot PDX.  Environmental injustice only adds to the issues of an unlivable minimum wage, gentrification, and police violence that affects communities of color in Portland.

This project is also an injustice to future generations and violates the City’s trustee duties to protect our climate, air, and water for future generations.  Adrielle Fuller, a 23-year old single mother in Cully, says, “My five-year-old daughter and I can hear the trains from our house.  It’s a constant reminder that her future isn’t safe until the trains stop.”

City council is tentatively voting on the Pembina zoning code amendment on April 30th.  Portland Rising Tide and the Climate Action Coalition will be mobilizing the community to come out in opposition to new fossil fuel infrastructure in Portland.  Our city is rapidly being turned over to the hands of wealthy business interests and Portland is rising up against it.