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About Street roots. (Portland, OR) 1998-current | View Entire Issue (March 31, 2017)
News Page 8 Street Roots • March 31-April 6, 2017 economic hardship that would result if a landslide wiped out the Portland Airport’s storage container of jet fuel near Highway 30. Under the fossil fuel ban, Myers warned, a new storage facility would be difficult to build, and “a billion dollars in revenue” could potentially be lost from the delay. In fact, the Bureau of Planning and Sustainability’s code changes from repeatedly state that jet fuel M unicipal resistance is rising across the country as local communities go head December storage for the Portland Airport is not subject to the ban. The new rules also allow to head with the fossil fuel industry to preserve their environmental interests for the construction of new bulk fossil fuel storage facilties whose capacity is under 2 BY STEPHEN QUIRKE and before permitting the terminal, million gallons, and provide for 10 percent S T A F F W R IT E R Washington state will have to consider the growth in existing storage facilities when fact that the project is no longer consistent wo winters ago, the city of Portland seismic upgrades occur. with city zoning laws. Potter said there have made history. Myers said the CPBTC supports the been no legal complaints against the city’s transition away from new policy, and believes it stands on solid After years of work on climate fossil fuels, but did ground if challenges arise. “I’m confident resilience and efforts to lower the city’s not provide comment that our ban on crude oil storage and carbon footprint, city officials took stock of on how a transition handling facilities is enforceable,” Potter the regional situation with the fossil fuel could happen, saying "1 th io l I f s pretty well estab said. industry and unanimously passed a simply “I represent lished th at cities throngh their “I think it’s pretty well established that resolution to block the expansion of fossil folks in the ro alo g authority^ i© h a w the cities through their zoning authority, do fuel infrastructure - both within the city of construction have the authority to allow or prohibit Portland and in adjacent waters. The policy authority to allow or prohibit industry.” various types of uses,” he said. “Can you went into effect after another unanimous warloBS types oS uses»" The Portland single out certain types of commodities and vote this past December, which finalized Business Alliance - E. BRONSO N POTTER say you’re not going to allow those within changes to city building codes. V A N C O U V E R C IT Y A T T O R N E Y declined to be your jurisdiction? I think if you’re treating The effort has been hailed by climate interviewed for this in-state and out-of-state handlers of those activists across the country, and sets a new article. commodities equally you can.” precedent for how cities can lead against Across the U.S. A few days before Vancouver’s action, the climate change. The policy also had the examples abound of city of Aberdeen, Wash., voted to ban the personal support of 350.org’s Bill regulated industries attempting to sue local storage and handling of crude oil within the McKibben, who helped popularize the governments to prevent laws that affect city. And on March 21, Whatcom County, scientific consensus 5 years ago that 80 their bottom-line. In the case of the fossil n e a r th e C anadian b o rd er, re n e w e d a percent of existing fossil fuel reserves need fuel industry, the need, to experiment with 6-month moratorium on unrefined fossil to stay in the ground to prevent irreversible local laws has become increasingly urgent. fuels through Cherry Point as plans develop climate change. In October, McKibben In the summer of 2015 hot water in the to re-route the controversial Kinder Morgan joined former mayor Charlie Hales in an Columbia River killed half the sockeye pipeline around the city of Burnaby in Oregonian opinion, writing “Portland is salmon run. In February a new study from British Columbia and through Cherry Point, once again out in front, positioned to do the journal Geology found that 52,000 Wash. what climate-change experts say is square miles of permafrost is disintegrating necessary to hold off catastrophic climate in Northwest Canada. Such permafrost is disruption.” currently sequestering massive quantities of By adopting the policy, Portland became methane, which has a global warming ack in Portland, the fossil fuel appeal is the first city in the country to pursue direct potential 86 times that of carbon dioxide being pushed by three groups: the municipal action against the fossil fuel over a 20 year period. If such melting Portland Business Alliance, the Columbia industry. But as of January that policy is continues unabated, warming cycles around Pacific Building Trades Council (CPBTC), being challenged at the Land Use Board of the globe could become unstoppable. and the leader, the Western States Appeals (LUBA), where the fossil fuel Taking account of such risks on a global Petroleum Association. industry hopes to declare the policy illegal. and local scale, local governments in the Their specific legal objection is not yet This past July, Vancouver, Wash., took a Northwest have increasingly taken direct clear, as the coalition’s legal briefs will not piece of Portland’s policy and banned the legal action against the fossil fuel industry. be submitted until April 11. storage and handling of crude oil using city This May voters in Coos County voters Willy Myers of the CPBTC, the zoning law. Vancouver City Attorney E. will consider Measure 6-162, which would spokesperson for the groups suing the city, Bronson Potter explains that the policy will make fossil fuel exports in Coos County said the ban violates state land-use law by not directly affect the massive Tesoro- illegal - and provide a referendum on preventing fossil fuel development within Savage oil terminal, as state law in exporting liquefied natural gas via Jordan the city of Portland. Washington pre-empts local law on projects Cove LNG and the Pacific Connector More specifically, Myers warned of the of such size. But the law will prevent the company from building an adjacent refinery, cities T ► f i ' ■ r ? t » • * i ' • C: ‘ ï í ' l ? ?. ■ (■ B I
