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Ambre Energy would use this dock at the Port of St. Helens' Port Westward industrial park to transfer coal from Columbia River barges to ocean-going ships.

(Scott Learn, The Oregonian)

The Columbia County Board of Commissioners on Wednesday unanimously approved a plan to rezone 837 acres of farmland to industrial in a key battleground area for environmental groups fighting the region’s coal and oil export projects.

The decision is another step forward for growth at Port Westward, a Columbia River industrial park. It’s also being fought: The formal ordinance making the change hadn’t even been signed before Columbia Riverkeeper and a nearby landowner announced they would protest to the Oregon Land Use Board of Appeals, saying the decision violated local farmland protections. The land is used as a tree farm today.

Port Westward, near Clatskanie, is the home of a terminal that’s receiving oil from trains carrying volatile North Dakota crude. Those trains carry the same type of oil that’s been involved in three high-profile explosions since July. The port is also the site of a proposed terminal that would send coal to Asia.

The Port of St. Helens owns the 1,700-acre Port Westward property and wants more space there for industry. Pat Trapp, the port’s executive director, said no projects have been identified for the rezoned land. Any proposal will need another permit, he said, giving the public a chance to weigh in before development occurs.

“This is not a free-for-all,” Trapp said. “It’s just to lay the foundation for the future of the port.”

Columbia Riverkeeper and Mike Seely, a farmer who grows mint on adjacent land, said the rezoning would invite more coal and oil trains through the region and threaten Seely’s mint farm expansion plans.

“The county’s decision will support more dangerous crude oil trains rolling through the Columbia River Gorge, neighborhoods in North Portland, and communities along Highway 30,” said Brett VandenHeuvel, Riverkeeper’s executive director. “It’s a stunning decision that deserves a broader public discussion.”

-- Rob Davis