Portland is staring down the possibility of a multibillion-dollar cleanup bill if a major earthquake shreds the city’s Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub, and state lawmakers and county officials are scrambling to settle who would be on the hook. A proposed statewide policy would make terminal operators prove they can pay for spill response and damage recovery, but critics say its limits could still leave taxpayers and local emergency crews holding the check. The fight has exposed just how fragile Oregon’s fuel lifeline really is and has sparked a power struggle between Salem and Multnomah County over who gets to set the rules.
The county’s own seismic analysis lays out the stakes in stark terms: a Cascadia Subduction Zone quake could release roughly 94.6 million to 193.7 million gallons of fuel and trigger as much as $2.6 billion in direct damages. According to Multnomah County, the CEI Hub sits on liquefiable fill, and many of its storage tanks were built before modern seismic standards took hold, conditions the report says significantly increase the odds of catastrophic releases. The analysis also warns that any large spills into the Willamette River would be carried downstream toward the Columbia River, complicating cleanup and amplifying public health risks along the way.
What the CEI Hub Holds
Stretching for about six miles along the Willamette, the CEI Hub can store hundreds of millions of gallons of fuel in one tightly packed industrial corridor. As reported by the Portland Mercury, that cluster holds more than 90 percent of Oregon’s liquid fuel supply and provides all of the jet fuel used at Portland International Airport. With so much of the state’s gasoline, diesel, and aviation fuel sitting in one vulnerable spot, local officials and advocates argue that strong financial-assurance rules are the only way to prevent a worst-case spill from turning into a taxpayer-funded disaster.
What the State Bill Would Do
State lawmakers have put forward a measure designed to make owners and operators of bulk liquid fuel terminals prove they can pay for emergency response and long-term recovery, but opponents say it does not go far enough. As reported by The Oregonian/OregonLive, House Bill 4100 would require each operator to obtain a certificate of financial responsibility by March 2027, while capping liability at $300 million per company. The proposal also includes a preemption clause that would block cities and counties from creating their own financial-responsibility programs, a move Multnomah County officials say could undercut local emergency and public health planning.
County Pushes Its Own Rule
Multnomah County is heading in the opposite direction, drafting its own ordinance to require big fuel facilities to be able to pay for the worst. Commissioners have floated a rule that would apply to any operation storing more than two million gallons of fuel, forcing operators to show they can cover cleanup and remediation in a worst-case spill scenario. The county says coverage amounts would be based on a site’s storage capacity and on whether the operator has implemented a mitigation plan approved by the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), according to Multnomah County. Staff are also compiling detailed cost estimates for local response and cleanup so commissioners have hard numbers in front of them before they finalize any ordinance.
How Other States Handle It
Backers of tighter rules in Oregon are pointing north. In 2024, Washington rolled out a financial-responsibility system that requires many vessels and fuel facilities to prove they can pay for oil spill cleanup and damages. The Washington Department of Ecology’s rule spells out what counts as acceptable proof, from insurance policies and surety bonds to self-insurance arrangements, and sets methods for calculating coverage based on worst-case spill scenarios. Advocates in Oregon say that kind of statewide framework would align liability with the true scale of potential damage better than a one-size liability cap.
Why Supplies Could Run Dry Fast
Task-force members and government officials warn that if the CEI Hub is knocked offline for long, the fallout would ripple quickly across Oregon. Some estimates say fuel supplies could be drained in just three to five days if the hub is shut down and no alternate distribution channels are available. Those projections rely on the same concentration numbers showing that the hub supplies nearly all of Portland’s jet fuel and a large share of Oregon’s gasoline and diesel, as explained by the Portland Mercury and county officials. That vulnerability is one of the main reasons county leaders insist companies should have ready access to funds for emergency response and community recovery if things go wrong…