science environment

Portland Planning Board Approves Propane Terminal But Adds Climate Fee

By Cassandra Profita (OPB)
Portland, Oregon April 8, 2015 6:15 a.m.
Hundreds turned out for a hearing on a controversial propane export terminal proposed at the Port of Portland.

Hundreds turned out for a hearing on a controversial propane export terminal proposed at the Port of Portland.

Courtesy of Columbia Riverkeeper

The Portland Planning and Sustainability Commission did not reject a controversial propane export terminal as opponents urged it to do on Tuesday.

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Instead, the board voted 6-4 to recommend a zone change and a carbon fee. The recommendation goes to the Portland City Council for final approval.

The Canadian company Pembina has proposed building a $500 million propane export terminal at the Port of Portland on the Columbia River by 2018. The proposed terminal would be capable of handling 1.6 million gallons a day of liquid propane, delivered by train from a Pembina gas processing facility in Alberta. It would be held in refrigerated storage tanks and piped onto export ships bound for Asia.

The pipeline running from the propane storage tanks to the ships would have to cross an environmental overlay zone where gas pipelines are currently prohibited. To build the project, the company needs a zone amendment that would allow propane to be piped through the environmental zone.

Before voting, commissioners weighed safety issues such as how much area would be affected in case of an explosion or fire, how the facility would hold up to earthquakes and floods, and whether emissions associated with the project conflict with the city’s Climate Action Plan.

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After hours of testimony in a packed hearing room, commissioners were evenly split on denying the zone change altogether. Commissioner Chris Smith said that was disappointing, and he that he hopes the city council will reject the project.

"We had I think an overwhelming turnout from the public saying they oppose this," he said. "I'm hoping they will continue their efforts and carry this to council and get council to look at this and recognize this is not a good investment for the city."

Propane is a byproduct of processing natural gas and refining petroleum. It’s commonly used to fuel backyard barbecues. Pembina says its project will be safe and its gas will be used largely to offset heavier fossil fuel use in Asia. But opponents argue it’s still a dirty business tied to fracking for oil and gas and harmful greenhouse gas emissions.

Smith said he can't support a project with so many ties to fossil fuel extraction when the city has made a conscious effort to reduce its contributions to climate change in its Climate Action Plan.

"Fundamentally, the idea of being a partner with essentially the entire fossil fuel exploitation infrastructure of Western Canada is contradictory to our Climate Action Plan," he said. "We can't single out this one little bit of propane and say that's OK when in fact it's connected to the tar sands and fracking and things that definitely are not coherent with our values."

The project would generate up to 800 construction jobs and up to 40 permanent positions, and the company has committed to buying renewable energy to power the facility. Numerous business and trade associations, Portland General Electric, union carpenters and construction workers spoke in support. But opponents vastly outnumbered supporters at Tuesday's hearing. Opponents included neighbors, the local longshoreman's union, religious leaders, scientists, environmentalists and even several middle school students from Sunnyside Environmental School.

April Smith lives a little more than a mile from the proposed terminal site in Class Harbor.

"We live 100 yards from the railroad bridge that would be carrying the propane," she said. "I don't want my house to blow up. I don't want the trains to derail and fall into the beautiful Columbia River. I want to keep it the safe, peaceful place that it is."

Commissioners recommended charging Pembina a carbon offset fee of $6.77 per ton to account for the full life cycle emissions of the exported propane from its production through its end use. Altogether, that would add up to $6.2 million a year. In their final vote, the board debated that amount and agreed it should be carefully calculated and adjusted annually. The city would use the funds to reduce carbon emissions in Portland.

Board chair Andre Baugh voted against denying the zone change for the terminal. He said it's unfair to deny developing countries access to propane, which is a cleaner-burning fuel than coal and oil.

"If you're not going to provide them with the tools to start a conversation about not using coal and oil, it doesn't work for me," he said. "I think we have to have courage, take a risk and move this forward to council and really say to the nation, to the world this is a climate action plan that we believe in."

Opponents repeatedly shouted "shame" when the commission took its final vote to recommend the zone change and vowed to take up their cause with the Portland City Council.

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