More than 90% of all liquid fuel in Oregon is stored along a 6-mile stretch of the Willamette River just north of downtown Portland known as the Critical Energy Infrastructure hub. Studies have shown that a major earthquake could cause the release of as much toxic liquid as the BP Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with oil reaching all the way to the mouth of the Columbia River.
This fall, the city released a draft proposal to reduce the fuel stored at the site and require seismic upgrades. Eric Engstrom, director of the Portland Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, joins us to explain the plan.
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