Welcome to Tank the Tanks' Call to Action
The Truth About The Risk to Our Communities
Please sign the petition below.
If these tanks blow, we all go!
We know that the industries along this six-mile stretch of our Willamette River have been allowed to poison the air, soil, and water -- and all living beings. The CEI (Critical Energy Infrastructure) Hub is home to carcinogens and other toxic substances that you can smell, taste, and feel.
We know that the lives of people throughout Oregon and beyond will be devastated by a catastrophe at the CEI Hub. Explosions, fires, unbreathable air, unnavigable rivers. Thousands of people killed. More than 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuel gone. Environmental destruction that will last for generations.
We know that we’re one earthquake, one train derailment, or one human error away from tragedy. The Hub has been described variously as a “looming catastrophe that would result in a devastating loss of life,” and a coming “disaster on the order of Fukushima and Deepwater Horizon combined.”
We know that biofuels are no solution to the threats posed by petrochemicals. Biofuels, too, will burn and create toxic fumes.
We know that while the old, unsafe tanks remain here on liquefiable soil, the question is not whether this will happen. The question is: When will it happen? Perhaps today? Maybe tomorrow.
We know there is no excuse for allowing this disaster to unfold. Corporate, political and regulatory voices will say: The tanks cannot be removed! People put them here. People can take them away. Tank the Tanks!
COMMUNITY SAFETY and THE CEI HUB PETITION
Started by Linnton Neighborhood Association / Tank the Tanks
Dear Governor, Oregon Legislators, DEQ Director, Multnomah County Commissioners, Portland City Council, Metro Council, Oregon Federal Delegation,
I am deeply concerned about the threat posed by fossil fuel companies at Multnomah County’s Critical Energy Infrastructure (CEI) Hub. They threaten our lives, our communities, and the environment. Flammable, toxic fuels sit in old, unsafe tanks, on unstable soil along the Willamette River. When an earthquake strikes, we face the biggest disaster in US history. This is not an imaginary danger–it’s a ticking time bomb that threatens us daily.
Oregon legislation now requires the state’s largest liquid fuel facilities to submit seismic stability studies. Then they’re expected to make their tanks and structures safer. This will take up to 10 years. An earthquake could hit tomorrow.
We know earthquakes aren’t the only causes of disaster. Floods, lightning, railcar wrecks, equipment failures, and human error are also potential triggers.
A “Can’t Breathe, Can’t Leave” scenario came to light in an October 2023 report. In Multnomah County over a thousand hazmat storage containers can fail in a disaster; those with toxic gasses can release lethal plumes. In the County and beyond, this can make it impossible for living things to seek safety. People won’t be able to either shelter in place or evacuate. The biggest impact will be in marginalized communities. No action has been taken to prevent toxic gas releases. Community safety must come first.
We can’t stop natural disasters. The fuel tanks should be moved to safer locations and spread throughout the state so fuel will be available to meet communities’ needs.
While fuel tanks are still here, measures like these can reduce life-safety dangers at the Hub:
- Prevent the release of toxic gasses that are likely to spread deadly plumes into the air in an earthquake or accident.
- Reduce the amount of flammable fuel that is stored at the Hub.
- Remove unused, out-of-service fuel tanks that can collapse, ignite fires, and contaminate the river.
- Require facilities to install operational shutdowns to stop cascading events in a disaster.
- Hold facilities financially responsible now for the risks they pose. This is the best way to avoid costly and time-consuming litigation later.
Government officials and decision makers, please safeguard our human, community, and environmental rights. Communities must be places where we live without fear of a catastrophe caused by corporate negligence and past government inaction.
Click here to Sign the Petition and add your voice to this critical cause: www.change.org/CommunitySafetyCEIHub