Blog post by Lauren Goldberg, Riverkeeper’s Staff Attorney—
The State of Oregon’s largest port announced that it will not open its doors to crude oil-by-rail projects. The Pacific Northwest is at the epicenter of proposals for oil-by-rail shipping terminals. As oil production skyrockets in North Dakota and neighboring states, Big Oil is turning to rail lines running through Spokane, Portland, and the Columbia Gorge National Scenic Area to move crude oil to market.
“The Port’s announcement signals that the tide is turning. As more catastrophic accidents occur, public ports can no longer turn their backs on the serious threats from oil-by-rail,” explains Columbia Riverkeeper’s Executive Director, Brett VandenHeuvel. “We see oil-by-rail—and associated oil tanker traffic on the Columbia River—as a leading threat to public health and endangered salmon recovery. Portland’s announcement draws attention to the Port of Vancouver’s short-sighted approval of a massive oil-by-rail project. The Port of Vancouver can and should reconsider their rushed decision because crude-by-rail is simply too dangerous.” states VandenHeuvel.
The Port of Portland issued a press release stating that, “we do not believe that we have sufficient answers to the important questions regarding environmental and physical safety to proceed with any type of development at this time.” The Port’s decision to announce publicly its rejection of oil-by-rail is a bellwether for the Pacific Northwest business communities’ strong reservations about oil-by-rail.
