planning committee votes to send proposed
propane facility to the city council
City council vote on pembina propane terminal tentatively set for june 10
Mayor Charlie Hales, who has announced plans to seek a second term, withdrew his support for the proposed Pembina propane terminal, apparently in response to opposition by members of the Community for Earth and others seeking to slow climate change. The development was reported first by Willamete Week.
The Oregonian carried the report on its front business page, and bashed the mayor in an editorial Saturday May 8. "A leader in Hales' place would have stuck to his original position and explained, notwithstanding the opposition of an exceptionally vocal fringe, that placing the end use of Pembina's propane on Portland's climate ledger would amount to fantasy accounting," The Oregonian opined. Tell the Oregonian what you think at this email address.
The City Council was expected to vote on the issue on June 10. A large delegation of Community for Earth members accompanied The Rev. Kate Lore of First Church when she testified against at the council, urging members to oppose construction of any fossil fuel export facilities in Portland. Click for more complete coverage.
Let members of the Council know how you feel:
Charlie Hales: [email protected];
Nick Fish: [email protected];
Amanda Fritz: [email protected];
Steve Novick: [email protected];
Dan Saltzman: [email protected]
The Oregonian carried the report on its front business page, and bashed the mayor in an editorial Saturday May 8. "A leader in Hales' place would have stuck to his original position and explained, notwithstanding the opposition of an exceptionally vocal fringe, that placing the end use of Pembina's propane on Portland's climate ledger would amount to fantasy accounting," The Oregonian opined. Tell the Oregonian what you think at this email address.
The City Council was expected to vote on the issue on June 10. A large delegation of Community for Earth members accompanied The Rev. Kate Lore of First Church when she testified against at the council, urging members to oppose construction of any fossil fuel export facilities in Portland. Click for more complete coverage.
Let members of the Council know how you feel:
Charlie Hales: [email protected];
Nick Fish: [email protected];
Amanda Fritz: [email protected];
Steve Novick: [email protected];
Dan Saltzman: [email protected]
The mayor's reversal came a month after the Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission (PSC) narrowly approved an amendment to the environmental code that would allow Pembina Pipeline Corporation of Canada to bring mile-long propane trains from Alberta over 1000 miles of tracks to Portland, OR, for export to Asian markets--every other day and, eventually, every day for the next 30-plus years.
But, wait, it gets worse: Pembina wants to store 23 million gallons of liquid propane at the Port of Portland, just across from Vancouver where oil companies want to build the nation's largest oil export terminal. Should these storage tanks collapse, catch fire in an accident, earthquake or terrorist attack, worst case, they would release an explosion equivalent to the nuclear bomb that incinerated Nagasaki. Times two. (The 23 million gallons of liquid propane, vaporized and mixed with air has, when ignited, the potential for a 48.5 kiloton explosion. The bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki to end World War II had the blast equivalence of 21 kilotons of TNT. ) Read Daphne Wysham's full post on the Huffington Post.
But, wait, it gets worse: Pembina wants to store 23 million gallons of liquid propane at the Port of Portland, just across from Vancouver where oil companies want to build the nation's largest oil export terminal. Should these storage tanks collapse, catch fire in an accident, earthquake or terrorist attack, worst case, they would release an explosion equivalent to the nuclear bomb that incinerated Nagasaki. Times two. (The 23 million gallons of liquid propane, vaporized and mixed with air has, when ignited, the potential for a 48.5 kiloton explosion. The bomb the U.S. dropped on Nagasaki to end World War II had the blast equivalence of 21 kilotons of TNT. ) Read Daphne Wysham's full post on the Huffington Post.
take portland out of fossil fuel export business
This opinion piece appeared in the oregonian may 9, 2015
By George Crandall
"Sustainability" has become a feel-good term often used to fool us into thinking that products and projects are good for the environment. Pull back the curtain and often you find that entities branded as sustainable are anything but.
In 2014 the White House awarded Portland the title of "Climate Action Champion." In the eyes of many, the "champion" failed its first big sustainability test when the Planning and Sustainability Commission recently held a marathon six-hour public hearing concerning a propane export terminal proposed by Canada-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation for construction within Portland's city limits. The commission heard testimony from around 100 citizens opposing the project: neighborhood leaders, health professionals, faith leaders, students, environmentalists, scientists and nearby residents.
Much of the testimony spoke to public safety. The storage tanks would be adjacent to populated areas. Local scientific and technical experts testified that a storage tank explosion caused by an earthquake, train or ship accident, or terrorist attack would be lethal within one mile of the site. Extending out 2.9 miles from the site, serious injuries, burns, ruptured eardrums and shattered glass would be expected. The entire threat zone would extend out a radius of approximately 6.7 miles, covering an area of 140 square miles.
And that's just the terminal. Pembina takes no responsibility for what might happen to trains carrying propane from Canada down the Columbia Gorge to the proposed terminal.
The public's other major concern was global warming. Pembina's propane is a byproduct of fracking, a highly polluting process, and burning propane creates carbon pollution. The facility would receive daily shipments of 37,000 barrels of propane. The climate impact of this propane, once burned, would be equivalent to the daily emissions from 760,000 passenger vehicles or about 0.01 percent of total global CO2 emissions each year, according to experts.
To the public's shock, at the end of the testimony the commission started discussing how to maximize potential tax revenues from the Pembina project and then voted to approve the code amendment allowing the terminal to be built.
During testimony the public asked, "Why would the commission promote Portland as a global warming enabler by exporting fossil fuels? Wouldn't that be in direct conflict with the values expressed in the Portland Climate Change Action Plan?"
Sustainable practices are, by definition, actions that can be continued indefinitely without damaging the environment. Exporting fracked fossil fuel, an atmospheric pollutant to the larger world, is anything but sustainable practice.
The Pembina terminal is now in the hands of the City Council, which will consider the commission's recommendations in June. Portland cannot continue to ride the sustainability bandwagon and at the same time embrace the fossil fuel export business. We are going to have to make a choice between a sustainability program that has integrity and one that is a sham. The lives of future generations and the planet depend on it.
•
George Crandall, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is a principal at Crandall Arambula, a Portland-based urban design, planning and architecture firm.
"Sustainability" has become a feel-good term often used to fool us into thinking that products and projects are good for the environment. Pull back the curtain and often you find that entities branded as sustainable are anything but.
In 2014 the White House awarded Portland the title of "Climate Action Champion." In the eyes of many, the "champion" failed its first big sustainability test when the Planning and Sustainability Commission recently held a marathon six-hour public hearing concerning a propane export terminal proposed by Canada-based Pembina Pipeline Corporation for construction within Portland's city limits. The commission heard testimony from around 100 citizens opposing the project: neighborhood leaders, health professionals, faith leaders, students, environmentalists, scientists and nearby residents.
Much of the testimony spoke to public safety. The storage tanks would be adjacent to populated areas. Local scientific and technical experts testified that a storage tank explosion caused by an earthquake, train or ship accident, or terrorist attack would be lethal within one mile of the site. Extending out 2.9 miles from the site, serious injuries, burns, ruptured eardrums and shattered glass would be expected. The entire threat zone would extend out a radius of approximately 6.7 miles, covering an area of 140 square miles.
And that's just the terminal. Pembina takes no responsibility for what might happen to trains carrying propane from Canada down the Columbia Gorge to the proposed terminal.
The public's other major concern was global warming. Pembina's propane is a byproduct of fracking, a highly polluting process, and burning propane creates carbon pollution. The facility would receive daily shipments of 37,000 barrels of propane. The climate impact of this propane, once burned, would be equivalent to the daily emissions from 760,000 passenger vehicles or about 0.01 percent of total global CO2 emissions each year, according to experts.
To the public's shock, at the end of the testimony the commission started discussing how to maximize potential tax revenues from the Pembina project and then voted to approve the code amendment allowing the terminal to be built.
During testimony the public asked, "Why would the commission promote Portland as a global warming enabler by exporting fossil fuels? Wouldn't that be in direct conflict with the values expressed in the Portland Climate Change Action Plan?"
Sustainable practices are, by definition, actions that can be continued indefinitely without damaging the environment. Exporting fracked fossil fuel, an atmospheric pollutant to the larger world, is anything but sustainable practice.
The Pembina terminal is now in the hands of the City Council, which will consider the commission's recommendations in June. Portland cannot continue to ride the sustainability bandwagon and at the same time embrace the fossil fuel export business. We are going to have to make a choice between a sustainability program that has integrity and one that is a sham. The lives of future generations and the planet depend on it.
•
George Crandall, a Fellow of the American Institute of Architects, is a principal at Crandall Arambula, a Portland-based urban design, planning and architecture firm.
Community for earth members oppose terminal
PORTLAND, Ore. – The Planning and Sustainability Committee has voted to move forward with a proposal to send to the City Council a proposal to build a $500 million propane facility on the Columbia River.
Members of the Community for Earth were among 150 people who gathered Tuesday, April 7, outside the committee’s final hearing to protest the proposed North Portland propane terminal.
The committee voted 6-4 to move forward with the proposal, which now goes to Portland’s City Council.
Last August, Canadian pipeline company Pembina proposed siting a $500 million propane storage facility at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 on the Columbia River. Propane would arrive by rail tanker cars from Canada; then it would be transferred to ships that would take it to customers in Asia. Read coverage from KATU and KOIN.
Many Unitarian Universalists were among the hundreds of people who attended a Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission meeting as it considered a zoning decision for a controversial propane export terminal.
The Canadian company Pembina has proposed building a $500 million propane export terminal at the Port of Portland on the Columbia River by 2018, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
While the company and its supporters tout the jobs the project will create and the fact that propane burns cleaner than other fuels, opponents argue it’s still a dirty business tied to fracking for fossil fuels and harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Among the friends of members of Community for Earth who attended were Marilyn Sewell, Diane and Brent Schauer, Paulina Bartnik, Pat McAleer, Judy Perry, Sharon Rickman, Don Merrick, Barbara Ford, Angela van Patten, Daphne Wysham, Patricia Bellamy, Claire Darling, Chris Abernathy and Cynthia Sulaski.
Members of the Community for Earth were among 150 people who gathered Tuesday, April 7, outside the committee’s final hearing to protest the proposed North Portland propane terminal.
The committee voted 6-4 to move forward with the proposal, which now goes to Portland’s City Council.
Last August, Canadian pipeline company Pembina proposed siting a $500 million propane storage facility at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 on the Columbia River. Propane would arrive by rail tanker cars from Canada; then it would be transferred to ships that would take it to customers in Asia. Read coverage from KATU and KOIN.
Many Unitarian Universalists were among the hundreds of people who attended a Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission meeting as it considered a zoning decision for a controversial propane export terminal.
The Canadian company Pembina has proposed building a $500 million propane export terminal at the Port of Portland on the Columbia River by 2018, Oregon Public Broadcasting reported.
While the company and its supporters tout the jobs the project will create and the fact that propane burns cleaner than other fuels, opponents argue it’s still a dirty business tied to fracking for fossil fuels and harmful greenhouse gas emissions.
Among the friends of members of Community for Earth who attended were Marilyn Sewell, Diane and Brent Schauer, Paulina Bartnik, Pat McAleer, Judy Perry, Sharon Rickman, Don Merrick, Barbara Ford, Angela van Patten, Daphne Wysham, Patricia Bellamy, Claire Darling, Chris Abernathy and Cynthia Sulaski.
Follow these links for:
- More complete OPB coverage; - Additional coverage, see KOIN-TV - Marilyn Sewell coverage in the Huffington Post - The text of Marilyn Sewell's testimony |
|
BACKGROUND AND FUTURE ACTION
On September 2, 2014 Pembina, a Canadian oil company with heavy investments in the Alberta tar sands, announced plans to build a propane export terminal at the Port of Portland’s Rivergate Terminal on the Columbia River at Terminal Six. This project cannot move forward unless the City Council approves a weakening of zoning protection for the environmentally fragile riparian zone where the proposed terminal is to be located.
Listen to interview with activists Daphne Wysham and John Talberth on KBOO January 7th about the Pembina Propane terminal. Click her to listen: http://kboo.fm/content/propose
Propane is the by-product of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) oil extraction. Propane is released when the shale layers of the Earth are broken to access deep oil reserves. Pembina proposes to capture this gas, transport it on unit trains in the form of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) captured from their facilities in Edmonton, Alberta to the Port of Portland and then export the LPG on large vessels to Asia.
When burned, the propane passing through Pembina’s proposed propane export terminal would emit close to 10,000 tons of CO2 each day.
The City cannot alter its own environmental zoning code to allow a fossil fuel company to
export propane, a by-product of the chemically-intensive and environmentally destructive natural gas fracking process and still
be true to its own climate goals and rhetoric.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Based on recommendation from PSC, City Council will make the final decision. Email letters to the Mayor City Councilmembers [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
3. Send letters to The Oregonian: email letters of no more than 150 words to [email protected]. Or mail them to: Letters to the editor, The Oregonian 1500 S.W. First Ave. Portland, Or., 97201 They also may be faxed to (503) 294-4193. The editors ask that you include your full address and daytime phone number, for verification. Click here for guidelines.
Published Letter to Editor 1
Pembina’s proposed propane export terminal at the Port of PDX is being packaged and as a bridge fuel. Propane isn’t a bridge fuel, it’s a false solution. Pembina, a Canadian company wants to ship fracked propane to Asia from Terminal 6. The weak argument that propane is a bridge fuel to displace other forms of energy is nothing more than a red herring. Propane is a bi-product of dirty, polluting natural gas fracking. Burning propane creates carbon pollution. Selling the liquefied propane (LPG) bi-product of natural gas fracking makes this damaging extraction process more profitable and displaces the urgency to transition to renewable energy. Portland is one of 16 cities in the county labeled as Climate Action Champions and we shouldn’t buy the lie; shipping 13.5 million barrels of LPG a year from our city isn’t green.
Published Letter to Editor 2
This week, Portland was awarded the title of Climate Action Champions. Despite this, Portland
is on the verge of rolling back its environmental code along the Columbia River to allow a fossil fuel terminal to ship dangerous liquefied propane. Does this sound like a city wins presidential climate awards? Our city currently has a law that prohibits the transport of hazardous materials, like liquid propane gas (LPG) via pipeline through conservation zones like the sensitive riparian areas along the shores of the Columbia. This law has existed since 1989. Why change it now? A Canadian fossil fuel extraction and export company wants to ship dangerous liquefied propane (from Terminal 6. Mayor Hales has already rolled out the red carpet for LPG, declaring “This is great news” in a public statement on the proposal. Fewer environmental protections and more carbon pollution; doesn’t sound like great news to me.
For more information, visit Portland Rising Tide.
Listen to interview with activists Daphne Wysham and John Talberth on KBOO January 7th about the Pembina Propane terminal. Click her to listen: http://kboo.fm/content/propose
Propane is the by-product of hydraulic fracturing (fracking) oil extraction. Propane is released when the shale layers of the Earth are broken to access deep oil reserves. Pembina proposes to capture this gas, transport it on unit trains in the form of Liquid Petroleum Gas (LPG) captured from their facilities in Edmonton, Alberta to the Port of Portland and then export the LPG on large vessels to Asia.
When burned, the propane passing through Pembina’s proposed propane export terminal would emit close to 10,000 tons of CO2 each day.
The City cannot alter its own environmental zoning code to allow a fossil fuel company to
export propane, a by-product of the chemically-intensive and environmentally destructive natural gas fracking process and still
be true to its own climate goals and rhetoric.
WHAT YOU CAN DO
1. Based on recommendation from PSC, City Council will make the final decision. Email letters to the Mayor City Councilmembers [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]; [email protected]
3. Send letters to The Oregonian: email letters of no more than 150 words to [email protected]. Or mail them to: Letters to the editor, The Oregonian 1500 S.W. First Ave. Portland, Or., 97201 They also may be faxed to (503) 294-4193. The editors ask that you include your full address and daytime phone number, for verification. Click here for guidelines.
Published Letter to Editor 1
Pembina’s proposed propane export terminal at the Port of PDX is being packaged and as a bridge fuel. Propane isn’t a bridge fuel, it’s a false solution. Pembina, a Canadian company wants to ship fracked propane to Asia from Terminal 6. The weak argument that propane is a bridge fuel to displace other forms of energy is nothing more than a red herring. Propane is a bi-product of dirty, polluting natural gas fracking. Burning propane creates carbon pollution. Selling the liquefied propane (LPG) bi-product of natural gas fracking makes this damaging extraction process more profitable and displaces the urgency to transition to renewable energy. Portland is one of 16 cities in the county labeled as Climate Action Champions and we shouldn’t buy the lie; shipping 13.5 million barrels of LPG a year from our city isn’t green.
Published Letter to Editor 2
This week, Portland was awarded the title of Climate Action Champions. Despite this, Portland
is on the verge of rolling back its environmental code along the Columbia River to allow a fossil fuel terminal to ship dangerous liquefied propane. Does this sound like a city wins presidential climate awards? Our city currently has a law that prohibits the transport of hazardous materials, like liquid propane gas (LPG) via pipeline through conservation zones like the sensitive riparian areas along the shores of the Columbia. This law has existed since 1989. Why change it now? A Canadian fossil fuel extraction and export company wants to ship dangerous liquefied propane (from Terminal 6. Mayor Hales has already rolled out the red carpet for LPG, declaring “This is great news” in a public statement on the proposal. Fewer environmental protections and more carbon pollution; doesn’t sound like great news to me.
For more information, visit Portland Rising Tide.