What’s the concern with oil trains?
The oil inside the railcars running through our neighborhoods is highly pressurized, and trains can derail and explode, causing dangerous repercussions to our local communities, our health and safety, and our environment. Train derailments are an unfortunately common occurrence – From Lac-Mégantic, Quebec in 2013, Mosier, Oregon in 2016, and most recently in East Palestine, Ohio in February 2023 (not oil, but still a dangerous train explosion). And just this year, on April 29 2024, 5 Union Pacific train cars derailed on the Steel Bridge in Portland, causing the bridge to be closed to all forms of traffic for nearly a day. Thankfully the freight train was empty, but what if it been one of Zenith’s oil trains? 350PDX and Breach Collective recorded a podcast interview about this incident, you can listen to it here. There is nothing safe about transporting explosive fuels by train.
Who is responsible for these dangerous trains in our neighborhoods?
Zenith Energy is a Houston-based oil company that operates a terminal in NW Portland in the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub. The 39-acre site has 84 tanks with a total storage capacity of over 1.5 million barrels. Most, if not all, of the product Zenith handles is destined for overseas markets—it’s not even used here in Oregon.
What’s the history with Zenith Energy’s Portland terminal?
For nearly 7 years, 350PDX and community members across the city and region have been opposing Zenith Energy: a Houston-based oil company that’s been transporting 300 million barrels of crude oil annually through our community to their storage terminal in NW Portland in the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub since it bought the facility in late 2017. Together we’ve rallied, called, wrote, built a garden on the tracks, held a 3 day long vigil at the facility, educated our neighbors about the problem, sued the company, wrote songs, lobbied our elected officials, and so much more. Despite this, the City of Portland and Zenith Energy have colluded and gone behind the backs of our community to continue operating and expand their facility, but recently, new avenues have opened at the State and new incoming City Council to hold Zenith accountable.
In December 2017, Zenith bought a former asphalt facility called Arc Logistics and quietly started receiving tar sands and crude oil on mile-long trains from Canada and North Dakota. A year later, Zenith quadrupled its rail unloading rack capacity, resulting in increased throughput (oil moving through the facility) for the following years. That’s why we’ve seen quadruple the amount of oil trains moving through our region.
After years of tireless organizing, in 2021, Portland City Council finally listened to the people of Portland and denied a key land use permit for Zenith Energy, the Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS). We had stopped Zenith!
But in October of 2022, behind everyone’s backs, the City quietly approved Zenith’s third request for a LUCS, allowing Zenith to continue transporting crude oil for 5 more years before supposedly transitioning to “renewable” fuels. The City turned its back on 46 neighborhood associations, Multnomah County, 20 state legislators, 17 environmental and community organizations, and thousands of Portland residents who all expressed concern over Zenith Energy and originally urged the City to deny this permit. The October 2022 decision was made without any community or Tribal input on the process. Why did this happen? We learned later through public records requests that this was all part of a backroom negotiation between Zenith Energy and Portland City Commissioners and their staff. You can read more about this backroom deal on Street Roots and DeSmog Blog. The Portland City Auditor even found Zenith guilty of violating the City’s lobbying laws, but no further punishment was given from the City.
Zenith also has a storied history of multiple violations and shady behavior. Check out this Timeline of Violations and Lies from our partners at Columbia Riverkeeper to learn more.
Join the 350PDX Fossil Fuel Resistance Team
Since 2013, our team has been a key member of the highly successful movement to keep fossil fuels in the ground in the Pacific Northwest. We have an active and robust volunteer team that works on campaigns together, and we’d love for you to join us!
We meet every 2nd and 4th Tuesdays, rotating between Zoom and in-person in 350PDX’s office on Mississippi Ave. Contact Team Lead Ben Platt benplatt59@gmail.com for more information and to get plugged in.
