PORTLAND, Ore. -- The city of Portland, Ore., has passed what is reportedly the first ban on new bulk fossil-fuel terminals in the United States.
On Dec. 14, 2016, the Portland City Council voted unanimously for a zoning ordinance that prohibits new fossil-fuel storage facilities above 2 million gallons in capacity, according to a report by Oregon Public Broadcasting (OPB). The ordinance also limits the expansion of existing storage tanks at existing terminals by 10%.
However, the law has an exemption for fossil-fuel end users, which includes gas stations and airports. It also exempts storage tanks for non-fossil fuels, including ethanol and biodiesel.
The new ordinance targets fossil-fuel export facilities to avoid a conflict with federal authority for regulating interstate and international commerce, the report said. Several multinational energy companies recently have shown interest in building export terminals for petroleum, coal and liquefied natural gas in the Northwest to give them greater access to Asian markets, where energy prices are higher.
In July, the Vancouver, Wash., city council voted unanimously to ban new refineries and storage facilities that average fewer than 50,000 barrels per day, as well as their expansion.
While the Portland ban is confined to that city’s limits, it could affect other fuel markets in Oregon. The Olympia pipeline brings fuel into Oregon from refineries in Washington, and it terminates in Portland. Meanwhile, terminals in Portland’s Northwest Industrial district supply about 90% of Oregon’s fuel.
“We’re concerned that it could create a bottleneck in the state’s energy supply that would have implications for the economy and households throughout Oregon,” Marion Haynes, government relations director for the Portland Business Alliance, told OPB. The group, however, does not plan to challenge the zoning change.
Steve Novick, a Portland commissioner, warned that limiting the supply of fossil fuel has a modest effect on climate change.
“We’ve learned from the war on drugs that interrupting the supply of an addictive substance is a strategy of limited usefulness,” Novick told OPB. “We also very much need to focus on strategies to reduce the demand for fossil fuels, like land-use policies and transportation policies and investments that create a community where it is easier for people to bike, walk and take transit.”
The Portland city council also unanimously approved a plan to prioritize the development of the electric vehicle (EV) market, according to the Portland Business Journal. This includes replacing at least 10,000 gasoline- or diesel-powered vehicles with EVs in Portland’s Multnomah County, and doubling the number of public Level 2 and 3 charging stations.
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