An industrial sacrifice zone rests in a remarkable place on the west banks of the Willamette River, a mile north of downtown Portland. Its backyard is the Tualatin Mountain Range, where hundreds of bird species and other wildlife inhabit the forest, stretching from a quaint neighborhood to the Pacific Ocean.
“It’s beautiful here,” said Nancy Hiser, an area resident. “We’ve got four mountain views. You’re on the river. You’re 15 minutes from downtown.”
The industrial area known as the Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub sits across Highway 30 from Hiser’s house. The location offers marine, rail, and interstate access to import and export liquid fuels across the region. Along the six-mile stretch, 11 bulk fuel terminals hold 90 percent of Oregon’s liquid fuels—including gasoline, diesel, jet fuel, and other products—in 630 tanks. That’s 396 million gallons of fuel capacity. Many Portlanders fear it could blow up, spill into the river, or release harmful vapors in a disaster…