Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) has announced that they are cancelling the November 19th and December 4th hearing for Texas based Zenith Energy's air quality permit. DEQ says that after receiving questions and concerns from community members (that's us and our partners!) they have determined they need more information from Zenith before continuing with the hearings.
DEQ recently sent inspectors to Zenith's terminal and found that Zenith's construction is much more expansive than they originally thought. In 2020 Zenith Energy installed a valve and welded pipe so that they could start handling diesel and other fuel at another dock, which is the McCall Dock. Zenith did not notify DEQ of this expansion until three years after the construction occurred. DEQ was therefore unaware of this expansion and inspected the site this year, four years after Zenith expanded their operation.
Environmental justice advocates, including staff and members of Oregon PSR, have been working tirelessly to call attention to Zenith's illegal activity which goes beyond the expansion to McCall dock and includes violating numerous local regulations.
DEQ specifically thanks community members and advocates for calling their attention to Zenith's shady and illegal operations. This is a huge win for our communities and the fight against big oil and gas!
You can read more about DEQ's decision in the articles below:
Oregon Regulator's cancel Zenith hearings, pausing Portland fuel terminal's permit process - OPB