Stop the Port Exemption Bill: No Free Pass for Ports!

Community members on the South Coast and across Oregon are calling on legislators to oppose the Port Exemption Bill - HB 3382-4. This proposed bill would exempt major Oregon ports from land use and environmental regulations, including allowing extensive dredging and channel modification in the Coos Bay Estuary without environmental review.

The Port Exemption Bill would fast-track port development for the sake of profit without protections for the essential cultural and ecological resources that are essential to healthy bays and healthy economies on the Oregon Coast. This bill sets a dangerous precedent, enabling corporations to bypass the critical regulations that protect environmental justice communities, including Tribal communities, communities of color, and low-income, rural, and coastal folks across the state.

Oregonians say no free pass for Ports! Contact members of the Joint Transportation Committee to add your voice to stop the Port Exemption Bill. 

Why South Coast Communities oppose the Port Exemption Bill HB 3382-4: 

> A Healthy Bay = a Healthy Economy 

• The Coos Bay Estuary is the backbone of the economy on the South Coast.

• For generations, Coos Bay’s economy has depended on industries such as shellfish production, fishing, recreation, and tourism–all of which would be threatened if the major Ports were allowed to bypass environmental protections and land use laws.

• Instead of creating shortcuts for corporate profits, coastal communities are urging Oregon legislators to do all they can to sustain the regenerative local industries that allow the South Coast to thrive.

> No Free Pass for Ports! 

• On the South Coast, this bill would allow the Port of Coos Bay to dredge the estuary without complying with state and local land use laws that protect the Coos Bay Estuary, and the communities, ecosystems, and economies that depend on it. 

• Statewide, passing this bill would set a dangerous precedent that would allow corporate interests to bypass Oregon’s environmental protection laws.

> HB 3382-4 is at odds with Oregon's climate goals 

• The Oregon Coast’s ability to withstand the impacts of climate change is largely dependent upon maintaining healthy ecosystems like estuaries. The Port Exemption Bill would directly threaten the health of the Coos Bay Estuary by allowing the Port to perform destructive practices like dredging and channel modification. 

• As coastal communities increasingly face the impacts of climate change, it is all hands on deck to uphold state and local environmental laws that protect important ecosystems like the Coos Bay Estuary that act as natural climate solutions. Estuaries act as carbon sinks by storing and sequestering carbon 1000 times more efficiently than forests. 

• Sea level rise, ocean acidification, a growing number of smoky and hotter days each year are only some of the climate impacts coastal communities have been experiencing.