Kayakers Plan Massive Flotilla on Willamette River Against Zenith Oil

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 6, 2023

Contacts: 
Kelsey Baker, 415-599-6672, kelsey@mosquitfleet.us
Eloise Navarro, 541-224-4921, eloise@350pdx.org

WHAT: On Sunday, June 11, more than 100 activists from Oregon and Washington are expected to gather in a massive flotilla on the Willamette river under the Cathedral Bridge. They will be calling on Portland City Council members to rescind the permit they granted to Zenith Energy in October, 2022.

The water rally, made up of kayaks, paddle boards, canoes, and motor boats, is part of a national week of action to ‘End the Era of Fossil Fuels.’ People vs. Fossil Fuels, a coalition of over 1,200 groups across the country, has coordinated the week of action to demand that President Biden use his executive powers to declare a climate emergency and stop the federal approval of all new fossil fuel projects and exports.

WHO: Over 100 members of the community calling for climate action, locally and nationally

WHEN: Sunday, June 11, 2023, 11:00 a.m. - 4:00 p.m.

WHERE: Cathedral Park, 8800 N Bradford St, Portland, OR 97203

WHY: Zenith Energy, a Houston-based fossil fuel company, operates an oil-by-rail terminal in NW Portland in the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub. In 2017, Zenith quietly started receiving tar sands and crude oil on mile-long trains from Canada and North Dakota. Zenith now stores and transports dangerous and flammable fuels, including crude oil, that is mostly destined for overseas markets, and has been looking to expand their operations. The City of Portland initially denied Zenith’s request for a land use permit in 2021, preventing them from expanding, but went back on this decision at the end of last year. In granting Zenith a land use permit, the City not only moved forward without any Tribal engagement or consultation, but also ignored the demands of 46 neighborhood associations, Multnomah County, 20 state legislators, 17 environmental and community organizations, and thousands of Portland residents who have spent years calling for an end to Zenith’s oil-by-rail operations.

Zenith’s oil-by-rail poses a serious threat to the health and safety of Portland residents, especially those who live in the ‘blast zone’ (the area most at risk in the event of an oil train derailment and explosion; the US Department of Transportation (DOT) has designated the 0.5 mile area surrounding train tracks as an evacuation zone for oil train derailments, and the 1 mile area as a potential impact zone in the case of oil train fires). Oil being transported by rail is highly pressurized. Recent history teaches us that trains can derail and explode, and when those trains are carrying oil, they have particularly disastrous repercussions to community health and safety, and to the local environment. We’ve seen that train derailments – such as in 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) — have caused local tragedies and will likely continue to, since transporting explosive, chemical-laden fossil fuels at high speeds will always inherently be dangerous. 

To make matters worse, Zenith’s facilities are located within the Cascadia earthquake subduction zone, meaning they lie on unstable soils that would be subject to liquefaction and lateral spreading in an earthquake. The CEI Hub was built before there was understanding about this region’s earthquake risk. A 2022 report on the CEI Hub, funded by the Portland Bureau of Emergency Management and Multnomah County Office of Sustainability, states that 91% of the CEI storage tanks were built before Portland adopted seismic standards, and some of the tanks are 100 years old. In an earthquake, what seems like solid ground will liquify and tanks may rupture, releasing as many as 193 million gallons of fuel and toxic substances into the air, water, and soil, harming wildlife and polluting the environment for decades. A CEI Hub disaster scenario could also cause serious harm to human health, including taking lives, and would have detrimental ripple effects throughout the Oregon state economy. 

MORE: The Mosquito Fleet is a regional network of activists building community power on the water to fight for climate justice in the pacific northwest through on-water direct action and grassroots movement building. https://mosquitofleet.us/

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