Oil cars line up for unloading at the Zenith Energy oil terminal in Portland's northwest industrial area in this 2020 file photo.
Cassandra Profita / OPB
A fuel storage company operating a controversial terminal in Portland needs to go back to city leaders for a land use permit, state regulators announced Friday morning.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality is also fining Zenith Energy $372,600 for operating out of a nearby dock without authorization.
“We are extremely disappointed with this decision by DEQ,” Grady Reamer, chief commercial officer of Zenith Energy, said in a statement Friday morning. “We have worked closely with the agency for years, including conducting annual drills and numerous inspections providing full visibility into our operations.”
Zenith needs an air quality permit from the state to continue storing and moving fuels out of its facility along the Willamette River. This process has undergone several twists and turns since 2021.
As part of the state’s permit application, Zenith needs a city permit that describes where the terminal’s operations occur. DEQ says Zenith’s current permit fails to meet those requirements because it doesn’t list tax lots where it operates.
Zenith owns a 42-acre lot in an industrial hub in Northwest Portland. It also has agreements with energy companies Chevron and McCall to use their nearby docks. DEQ says Zenith needs to have those companies’ tax lots listed on its land use permit.
A map depicting tax lots where Zenith Energy owns or operates equipment in Northwest Portland.
Image courtesy of the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
Zenith has until Feb. 4 to get a new permit from Portland. That could be tricky when new, more progressive leadership takes over next year. If the city issues the permit, then Zenith can move forward with its state application.
The company also has been ordered to pay a civil penalty for its work at the McCall Dock. Zenith installed a line to move fuel to the dock without first getting permission from the state. It operated this line for three years before DEQ officials discovered it this summer, the agency said. Zenith has 20 days to appeal the penalty.
Zenith has drawn fierce opposition over the years from many environmental groups and Portlanders, who criticized the company for its history of violating multiple local regulations.
Zenith Energy fuel terminal
DEQ regulators denied Zenith’s first attempt to get an air quality permit in 2021, because it didn’t yet have a city land use permit that explained the type of fuel work it did.
Later that year, Portland officials denied Zenith’s land use permit application, saying its operations didn’t comply with the city’s environmental goals. Zenith appealed to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, then to the Oregon Supreme Court. During the appeals process, Portland leaders suddenly changed course and gave Zenith the land use permit it needed, under the condition that the company transition from crude oil to renewable fuels.
During that time, Zenith staff met several times with city leaders without reporting those lobbying hours, violating city regulations.
DEQ is holding an informational meeting on Dec. 16, where it will explain its recent decisions and what lies ahead for Zenith’s permit.
