The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) announced today it will pause the air quality permitting process for Portland’s Zenith Energy terminal. The decision comes after the DEQ conducted a surprise inspection of the Zenith property, located along the Willamette River in Northwest Portland, on Wednesday. 

The state agency’s pause won’t have an immediate impact on Zenith’s operations, but it could throw a wrench in the company’s future ability to operate at the Portland terminal. At the very least, it could force Zenith to remedy issues called out by the DEQ.

Environmental advocates in Portland, who have long petitioned the city and state to restrict Zenith’s oil transport and storage operations in the city’s Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) hub, were pleasantly surprised by the news. Recent attempts to persuade city officials to rescind Zenith’s land use permit have been unsuccessful, despite broad concern among Portland residents about the oil-by-rail company’s business and resulting environmental consequences.  

Previously, it appeared the state agency was on track to approve Zenith’s air quality permit renewal, giving the company permission to operate into the future and expand its facilities. Though it’s unclear what the impact of the DEQ’s decision will be and if it will result in a change to the air quality permit, advocates say the news offers an opportunity for the state to go in a new direction. It may also provide a window for Portland City Council to revisit its past decisions, too. 

According to OPB, which broke the news Thursday afternoon, the DEQ’s unexpected property inspection showed Zenith had done “more expansive” construction work than agency staff expected. In 2021, Zenith began using an additional dock owned by McCall Oil for marine loading, without alerting or receiving approval for the expansion from the DEQ. The state didn’t learn of this new use until its operation was well underway, and hadn’t inspected the facilities until this week. 

Zenith’s critics have wanted the DEQ to acknowledge the company’s history of violating local policies, from operating outside the scope of its permits to excessive political lobbying, as well as community concern about its environmental impacts. Kate Murphy, Senior Community Organizer at Columbia Riverkeeper, is one advocate who has brought attention to Zenith’s shady actions over the years. 

She told the Mercury she’s “happy to see regulators are looking past Zenith’s greenwashing” to take action and “investigate the broad range of concerns raised by the public.” 

“This development is a strong testament to the years of dedication from community members to protect one another and reduce harm from the fossil fuel industry,” Murphy said.

Christine Svetkovich, DEQ’s northwest region administrator, said in a press release that the agency “appreciates the community’s participation and questions during the public process.” 

“Their questions and feedback led DEQ to pursue additional information from Zenith Energy,” Svetkovich said. “It will take some time for us to receive all the information and determine next steps.” 

Dineen Crowe, campaign manager at environmental organization 350 PDX, told the Mercury the DEQ’s decision shows how powerful community engagement and grassroots organizing can be. Crowe said she was heartened DEQ staff acknowledged the work environmental advocates have been doing to raise awareness about Zenith, and hopes Portland City Council members will listen, too. 

“This really shows our community engagement and grassroots organizing really works, and it's powerful,” she said. “It does seem like this is going to provide a new avenue for the new City Council to revisit those decisions.”

Come January, Portland City Council will have a new makeup. Several of the 12 councilor-elects have stated concerns about the Zenith facility in the past. Four future councilors sent a letter to the Oregon DEQ in October, asking the agency to delay its decision about Zenith’s air quality permit until the new City Council had a chance to weigh in on the company’s continued operations in Portland. 

Among other issues, the candidate letter highlighted the seismic vulnerability of liquid fuel tanks at the CEI hub, including those owned by Zenith, which would be likely to cause a massive oil spill in the Willamette River in the case of an earthquake.  

One of the people who signed that letter is Mitch Green, who was elected as one of three councilors in District 4, which includes the Northwest Industrial area where Zenith is located. Green told the Mercury he was pleased about DEQ’s decision. 

“It’s hard not to see it as a mandate for local government to take environmental and ecological issues very seriously,” Green said. “I want to hit the ground running when we start our session, looking very closely at Zenith’s Land Use Compatibility Statement and making sure the city is doing whatever it can to ensure a clean Willamette River.” 

To Crowe and other climate advocates, this news couldn’t come at a more important time. With federal environmental policies on the line thanks to Donald Trump’s reelection as president, local action will be all the more crucial. 

“This is a reminder that we can take powerful local action that really works,” Crowe said. “We're definitely being cautiously optimistic, but this is something to celebrate. Even just this pause in this process is absolutely important for our movement.” 

The DEQ has canceled two upcoming public hearings about Zenith’s air quality permit. The agency says it will set a date for a public information meeting to share more about the “inspection, findings, and next steps” by Dec. 6.