Climate Justice
Climate Impacts & Resiliency
PHCC frames cleanup as part of a larger solution to address climate change and other interrelated issues. Compounding health and safety issues requires resilience strategies to be integrated into cleanup processes.
We demand higher air quality standards to address harmful emissions, and the use of the most effective electric vehicles and diesel filters available for diesel-dependent equipment involved in the cleanup, sediment transfer, and disposal of Portland Harbor.
Courtesy of Maiya May, PBS: The Cascadia Subduction Zone, just off the Pacific Northwest coast, is building toward a massive earthquake and tsunami. New research reveals an even more terrifying possibility: widespread toxic spills from the CEI Hub, infrastructure collapse, wildfires, and deadly gas plumes. All triggered by a single seismic event. In this episode of Weathered, PBS digs into the science behind the Cascadia Megaquake, why the Pacific Northwest, Portland Residents and the Willamette River is especially vulnerable, and how climate change could make it worse.
Even if we succed in securing higher standards for cleaning the Willamette Superfund Site, the impending earthquake will recontaminate the river, Portland and Pacific Northwest region and be life threatening to people and wildlife.
Just Transition from Fossil Fuels
PHCC works with members and partners to create a Just Transition in the Portland Harbor that dismantles fossil fuel infrastructure and prevents fracked gas as a transition or replacement fuel.
Right along the Willamette River, 90% of the State of Oregon’s greenhouse gas-causing fossil fuel is stored and passes through the Portland Harbor at the Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub, managed by petrochemical companies.
Hub Task Force
PHCC The City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the State of Oregon must act with urgency to prioritize the transition and relocation of the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub before disaster strikes.
The City of Portland, Multnomah County, and the State of Oregon must act with urgency to prioritize the transition and relocation of the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub before disaster strikes. Experts have described it as a “ticking time bomb,” endangering over 30,000 nearby residents, poisoning our rivers, and cutting off vital fuel access statewide. Despite years of warnings, regulatory and industry responses have fallen short. Time is running out. The City, County, and State must work together to implement a phased drawdown and equitable transition plan that relocates fuel storage away from high-risk zones. The health, safety, and future of our communities depend on bold and immediate action.
