<img height="1" width="1" style="display:none" src="https://www.facebook.com/tr?id=192888919167017&amp;ev=PageView&amp;noscript=1">
Tuesday, March 19, 2024
March 19, 2024

Linkedin Pinterest

Proposal for Portland propane export terminal hits snag

City's zoning code wouldn't allow for pipeline to be built

The Columbian
Published:

PORTLAND (AP) — A Canadian energy company’s plan to build a $500 million propane export terminal at the Port of Portland has hit a snag.

Calgary-based Pembina Pipeline Corp. wants to bring propane by train from Canada, where the fuel would be stored in tanks before being piped onto ships bound for Asia. But Portland zoning code on land near the confluence of the Columbia and Willamette rivers doesn’t allow the pipeline, The Oregonian reported.

The city’s planning and sustainability commission will consider a proposal next month to change the zoning code to allow the company to move propane by pipeline. An environmental zoning prohibits transporting hazardous materials, except by rail or truck route.

Planning and Sustainability Bureau staff members support the change, and Mayor Charlie Hales has called the project “great news” for the city.

Environmentalists have vowed to use that process to fight the project.

Supporters say the terminal would create jobs and generate millions of dollars in tax revenue. Opponents say the propane terminal project could open Portland to other fuel exports. They also raise safety concerns.

City planners say the propane, burned as fuel in Asia, would release 3 million to 5 million metric tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year, according to city planners.

“At a time when we are working very hard to bring the carbon footprint of Portland down, this is a lot of new carbon into the atmosphere,” Bob Sallinger, conservation director for the Audubon Society of Portland, told the Oregonian.

The mayor’s spokesman, Dana Haynes, has said Hales welcomes public debate about the terminal.

The company estimates the terminal would generate nearly $92 million in property taxes over the next decade and an estimated 30 to 40 permanent jobs, plus 800 temporary construction jobs.

Eight tanks would store 125,000 gallons each of liquid propane refrigerated to minus-44 degrees.

“We look forward to continuing the many conversations we’ve had to date with the people who are interested in our project,” said company spokesman Jason Fydirchuk.

Loading...