What’s the current status of Zenith Energy?

Update as of April 8: DEQ just opened the comment period for Zenith’s Air Contaminant Discharge Permit. Comments are due by 5pm on May 30, and there’s public hearings on May 12 (in person) and May 15 (virtual).

Update as of March 20: Late last night, our movement had a massive victory – our Zenith Accountability Resolution passed through City Council with 11-1 votes! Now the City must investigate Zenith’s franchise agreement and the previous handlings of the City’s relationship with Zenith over the years. Read more about this from Street Roots.

Update as of February 18: Join us at City Hall with DSA to show City Council we’re serious about stopping Zenith! As of now, the plan is that Councilors Mitch Green, Angelita Morillo, Jamie Dunphy, and Tiffany Koyama Lane will introduce a resolution regarding Zenith Energy to the Transportation and Infrastructure Committee on March 10th. We then hope the resolution will go to a full Council vote the following City Council meeting on March 19th. It’s important right now to be lobbying your Councilors, urging them to join as co-sponsors if they aren’t already, and to support the resolution when it’s brought to a Council vote.

Update as of January 30, 2025: We demanded a dedicated City Work Session on Zenith Energy and the City listened! On Tuesday, January 21, the City held a Work Session and a Community Listening Session all on the current situation with Zenith Energy. During the listening session, 40 people testified, with all but one on our side! Here are recordings of the Work Session and the Listening Session. Afterwards, we compiled a document fact-checking the claims made by City Staff during the work session.

Update as of January 3, 2025: We started the new year off right by showing the power and determination of our movement to stop Zenith by showing up to the first City Council meeting of the year!

Update as of December 9, 2024: Oregon DEQ announced the results of their surprise inspection at the Zenith Energy terminal. Because of the company’s illegal use of the McCall Dock for transloading fuels without proper permits, DEQ is fining Zenith Energy $372,600 and requiring the company to obtain a new Land Use Compatibility Statement (LUCS) permit from the City of Portland. To continue its application for an air quality permit with the State of Oregon, Zenith is now required to obtain this LUCS from the City within 60 days, or by February 4, 2025. During this time, the comment period remains on pause. This is a significant setback for the company, and the right move by DEQ to (finally) hold this company accountable in a meaningful way. Read more about this from DEQ and from Street Roots.

This news follows the big announcement DEQ made on November 14, 2024, when the agency paused the air permitting process and public comment period for Zenith Energy and canceled the public hearings on Nov. 19 and Dec. 4, after mounting evidence of Zenith’s violations raised by the community (all of us!) sparked a need for further investigation. This is BIG DEAL and a very encouraging sign that regulators are taking our concerns seriously. DEQ said this investigation is the direct result of questions and concerns raised by the public throughout the process. This is a major testament to all of our dedication and determination to stop Zenith. You can read more about this news on OPB, The Mercury, The Oregonian, and Portland Tribune.

How do I learn even more?

On November 11, we co-hosted a Comment Writing Workshop for the community to learn how to craft technical comments to the DEQ about why Zenith shouldn’t receive the air contaminant discharge permit they applied for. (And even though this comment period remains paused (thanks to all of us!) there’s still useful information covered in this workshop.)

We’ve also been working with our partners to organize a great community forum educational series on Zenith Energy and the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub called Rumble on the River. Since October 2023 there have been nearly 20 community forums on this topic (and some forums on other similar topics!) featuring local experts. Videos of most of the Rumbles can be found on 350PDX’s YouTube page. We also recommend checking out Columbia Riverkeeper’s excellent resources on this campaign here.

Do you live or work in the Blast Zone of Zenith’s Oil Trains?

Use this map to see if you live in the “Blast Zone,” or the area most at risk in the event of an oil train derailment and explosion. The yellow and red lines indicates the 1 Mile and .5 Mile U.S Dept of Transportation Potential Evacuation Zones.

If you live or work in the Blast Zone, your voice is especially important in this fight. Mention this in your comment to the DEQ. If you want support talking to your neighbors about this, or would like a yard sign to help spread the word in your neighborhood, reach out to us at stopzenith@350pdx.org.

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 dineen@350pdx.org for more information and to get plugged in.