For the past few decades Portland has been internationally touted as a green city. In many ways it has deserved this reputation but there are still many ways in which the city needs to improve. In 2016 the city council approved a ban on any new or expanded fossil fuel infrastucture but the ban has yet to take effect, allowing Zenith Energy to slip through some pretty large loopholes as it increases the number of oil trains going through the region every day. And meanwhile on the Portland Harbor, which was declared a Superfund site in 2000, actual clean up is just beginning to take place.
On this episode of Locus Focus we talk with Bob Sallinger, Urban Conservation Director for Willamette Riverkeeper, about the current state of Portland's environmental regulations and what needs to be done to make them more effective and equitable.
- KBOO