By Mark Edward Nero
The Port of Portland and Pembina Marine Terminals, a subsidiary of Alberta, Canada-based Pembina Pipeline Corp., said March 24 that they intend to create a community investment fund that would total $3 million over 10 years, commencing at the time a proposed terminal at the port is fully operational.
“The people who know best where community investments are needed are the people who live in the communities we touch,” Pembina Marine Terminals Vice President Eric Dyck said. “We want their advice, their recommendations on where community investment dollars should go in their neighborhoods.”
“We hope this fund will make investments that provide direct benefits to the communities surrounding our facility,” Dyck said.
Pembina is proposing a $500 million propane export facility at the Port of Portland’s Terminal 6 complex. The project’s estimated to generate up to 800 union construction jobs over two years, 40 full-time employees who will be hired locally and $30 million in annual spending for goods, services and labor.
“We believe our investments can make a positive contribution, whether it is by increasing the urban canopy, speeding the conversion to cleaner fuels or helping the community become more resilient to climate change,” Dyck said.
The terminal operator has sought no public subsidies or tax abatement and is projected to pay $12 million annually in property taxes to fund local services and schools.
The proposed facility, which would be located at Terminal 6, is for exporting propane intended to displace higher-emission fuels.