A bill under consideration in the Oregon House of Representatives seriously threatens to dismantle environmental regulation and land use planning for all of the state’s deepwater ports. At the request of Oregon Public Ports Association, House Bill 3382 allows ports to construct, maintain, and improve deep-draft navigation channel improvements (greater than 37 ft. depth) without demonstrating compliance with state or local land use law. Ports could ignore land use and other regulations protecting habitats, species, water quality, and ecological functions including carbon sequestration. Had this bill been in effect earlier, the Jordan Cove Liquified Natural Gas facility that Oregonians rejected by demonstrating it was not consistent with the Coastal Zone Management Act (CZMA) would have gone through with little or no environmental review.
HB 3382 puts at risk birds, wildlife, fish, and water quality in irreplaceable estuaries across the state. As written, this bill would eliminate much of the environmental review for port deepwater projects in Coos Bay, Yaquina Bay, the lower Columbia River, and Portland.
HB 3382 appears to be fast-tracked with a first hearing scheduled before the Joint Committee on Transportation on March 14, 2023, at 5:00 p.m. Make your voice heard in opposition to this bad legislation.
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Please note: Written comments using the above link must be submitted no later than 5 p.m. on March 16. If you send written comments past that date, please direct it to your state legislators.
More background information is provided on the Legislative Information System webpage.
You can use the sample message below or write one of your own.
Sample Message:
HB 3382 undermines land use planning laws for all of Oregon’s deepwater ports. Authorizing major development projects to proceed without demonstrating compliance with state and local land use law puts at risk the valuable public resources of fish, birds, wildlife, and their habitats within our irreplaceable estuaries.
In addition to rendering state and local land use laws ineffective, HB 3382 subverts processes for public involvement in the review and input of how some projects may affect the places we live, recreate, and work. Oregon has a legacy of public engagement in natural resource management. This bill denies the public opportunities to participate in the review process for port projects in deepwater channels. The bill also sets a dangerous precedent for special interest groups to exempt themselves from state and local laws.
Please reject HB 3382 by acknowledging its incompatibility with the Oregon Coastal Management Program, and that the bill is not in the public’s interest.
