Port of Portland Invites Public Input on Prosperity, Quality of Life, and Equity
Provide Testimony - Let Your Voice Be Heard
Below is an excerpt from the Port of Portland's announcement of its December 8, 2021 meeting agenda. The meeting will begin at 9:30 am and is accessible on-line. As noted, if you wish to sign up to offer live testimony, the deadline for doing so is 12:00 noon on Tuesday, December 7.
"Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Commission will meet virtually. The meeting will be streamed live on the Port's website and YouTube channel.
Written public comments can be submitted via email at testimony@portofportland.com.
If you wish to provide live testimony, please send an email with your first and last name to testimony@portofportland.com and you will be provided with a link to testify via MS Teams.
The deadline to sign up for live testimony is noon on the day prior to the Port of Portland Commission Meeting."
Agenda: https://cdn.portofportland.com/commission/Dec21_AG_Fin-Combined.pdf
Meeting Materials: https://www.portofportland.com/Commission
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According to the agenda, the Port is seeking public comment on its Strategic Plan:
"The Port of Portland's job is to enhance the region's economy and quality of life. When we look at our history, we've created prosperity, but it's not been shared by everyone. As the pandemic and economic recovery continue to reveal the economic disparities in our communities, this work is more important than ever.
Shared prosperity is the vision we're driving towards – a region where prosperity is shared by all. Shared prosperity is using the Port's resources to enable more people to share and drive the prosperity of our region.
We look forward to hearing from interested persons, groups and agencies as we discuss the Port of Portland's strategic plan focused on shared prosperity.
This public comment period will provide interested persons, groups and agencies an opportunity for public feedback on the Port of Portland's FY2020-2025 strategic plan refresh focused on shared prosperity."
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Oregon Aviation Watch (OAW) encourages people to link to this meeting and submit written and oral comments.
The strategic plan referenced above specifically includes environmental leadership and equity among its guiding principles, and asserts that the Port is a "steward of the environment." It further states, "We partner to create equitable economic growth maximizing benefits for Black, Indigenous, people of color, low-income communities, and people living with disabilities…We acknowledge and actively work to dismantle institutional racism." Certainly these are lofty aspirational goals but fall far short of present circumstances. The evidence actually suggests that the very minority populations listed above are the same groups disproportionately impacted by aviation generated noise and pollution.
As stated by Congressional Representative Adam Smith in a 11/23/2021 Seattle Times editorial, "For decades, the U.S. invested in infrastructure and transportation systems and adopted land-use policies that have contributed to a high concentration of noise and pollution in low-income communities and communities of color. Communities near airports and air-flight pathways are no different. The effects that aviation noise and pollution have on communities is an environmental-justice and health-equity issue…Residents living in aviation-impacted communities cannot wait any longer for relief from the public-health consequences of exposure to high concentrations of pollutants and high levels of aviation noise."
How Does the Port Define Prosperity?
Is this focus on prosperity simply a rationale for the Port to continue exploiting local communities on behalf of flight training schools, aviation businesses, foreign governments and private pilots or does it herald a genuine change in direction?
Currently and historically, much of the prosperity created by the Port's aviation sector benefits very few people, largely private, for-profit aviation businesses, affluent aircraft owners, flight training schools, out-of-state corporations and foreign governments.
Though the Port of Portland claims to be a "steward of the environment" it continues to be one of the biggest polluters in the state. Air toxins released by their airports include but are not limited to CO2, PM2.5, benzene, ozone, carbon monoxide, and a host of other carcinogenic pollutants. Lead is also an ongoing concern.
The Port's three owned and operated airports - Portland International, Hillsboro, and Troutdale, pump well over a ton of lead into the air every single year.
The worst offender is the Hillsboro Airport (HIO) which according to 2017 Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) National Emissions Inventory (NEI) ranks 8th nationwide among 20,000 airports in airborne lead emissions; 45.40 percent of residents living within a mile of this airport are members of minority populations. The Troutdale Airport, the largest facility source of airborne lead emissions in Multnomah County, is also one of the top 100 lead polluting U.S. airports. Nearly 32 percent of those living within a mile of this facility are members of a minority population. Given that lead is linked to a number of potentially irreversible health outcomes, it's important to consider prosperity, equity, and quality of life from the perspective of those who have suffered significant losses and experienced environment degradation due to aviation activity generated by Port of Portland owned and operated airports. Flight training schools in particular such as Hillsboro Aero Academy and ATP pose a serious threat to human health and the environment.
With these issues in mind, OAW offers some talking points tailored to address equity issues and to encourage the Port to take this opportunity to provide "environmental leadership."
Urge Port to Support Endangerment Finding Petition for Leaded Fuel
According to the CDC, "No safe blood lead level in children has been identified. Even low levels of lead in blood have been shown to affect IQ, ability to pay attention, and academic achievement." In the words of physician and scientist, Dr. Bruce Lanphear "even a little lead is too much." There are now three comprehensive studies providing substantial evidence that children living in the vicinity of airports that service piston-engine aircraft have elevated blood lead levels. Due to the devastating and potentially irreversible effects of lead, particularly on children, people of color, pregnant mothers, unborn fetuses and vulnerable adults, urge the Port to join Earthjustice, Friends of the Earth, Center for Environmental Health, Oregon Aviation Watch, and the more than 60 other groups and 147 individuals who are petitioning the EPA to issue an endangerment finding for leaded aviation fuel. Other municipalities that have signed on to this effort are Santa Clara County, the Town of Middleton in Wisconsin, and the City of Santa Monica.
Urge Port to Ban Leaded Aviation Fuel at All Their Airports
In addition, urge the Port to ban the use of leaded aviation fuel at all of their airports and to assume a leadership role in prohibiting the use of this toxic substance at every airport in Oregon. Other municipalities have already established a ban. Following the 8/3/2021 release of a lead study that found elevated blood lead levels (BLLs) in children living in proximity to the Reid-Hillview Airport (RHV), the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to ban leaded aviation fuel at this airport. Several months later, at an 11/23/2021 council meeting, the City of Santa Monica voted to stop selling leaded aviation fuel at the Santa Monica Airport. The Port should also take immediate steps to discontinue the use of this pernicious neurotoxin at all their owned and operated airports.
Other Talking Points
According to Dr. Lanphear, "Children who have blood lead levels over 1.7 micrograms per deciliter of blood were 2 to 2 1/2 times more likely to have ADHD." He further stated that in the U.S. lead exposure is recognized as a causal factor in 1 out of 5 children who have been diagnosed with ADHD. As children's BLLs increase, the size of their brain is diminished, especially the prefrontal cortex which is smaller in children who have ADHD. The prefrontal cortex is the seat of rational thought and executive functioning thus damage to this part of the brain can lead to greater impulsivity. Detriments in IQ are found at even lower levels. What do prosperity, equity, and quality of life look like for children struggling with ADHD and IQ loss? (See 8/11/2021 Santa Clara sponsored community meeting on the Reid-Hillview Airport lead study for Dr. Lanphear's presentation on the impacts of lead on human health. It is available on You Tube at https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ta50eJvB8e4. His talk begins at approximately the 49 minute mark in the recording.)
Credible and compelling research reveals that lead exposure contributes to an increase in juvenile delinquency as well as abnormal behavior and psychology in adolescence. What do prosperity, equity, and quality of life look like for individuals entangled in the justice system as well as the victims of crime? (See RHV lead study, Pg. 1.)
According to the CDC, documented evidence reveals that lead exposure can result in "damage to the brain and nervous system, slowed growth and development, hearing and speech problems, behavior and learning problems." What does prosperity, equity and quality of life look like for the children struggling to become educated and engaged members of society when their brains and bodies have been damaged by lead? And what does quality of life, equity, and prosperity look like for the families struggling to help their children? And let's not forget the impact on the oft-times understaffed school systems and mental health agencies trying to address these issues. What do prosperity, equity and quality of life look like from their perspective?
Dr. Lanphear further noted that even at very low levels, lead is the leading risk factor for coronary heart disease and is responsible for around 185,000 deaths per year in the U.S. from this diagnosis alone. Lead is also a causal factor for renal failure, essential tremor, and hypertension and is a suspected contributor to ALS and dementia. What do prosperity, equity, and quality of life look like for adults struggling with these disorders?
Dr. Lanphear also pointed out that elevated blood lead levels in pregnant women contribute to premature births, low birth weight, reduced Apgar scores and also place them at higher risk for pre-eclampsia. What do prosperity, equity, and quality of life look like for mothers and infants struggling with these conditions?
Aviation Noise
Various studies have linked aviation noise with high levels of annoyance, increased stress, diminished reading comprehension in children, and a higher incidence of cardiovascular disease and stroke in adults. It also contributes to depression and anxiety.
What do prosperity, equity and quality of life look like for those who were forced to move, who are literally driven out of their homes, due to aviation noise and pollution?
What do prosperity, equity and quality of life look like for residents, both urban and rural, who are intentionally targeted multiple times a day by noisy, unrelenting student pilots and flight instructors who repetitively circle homes, neighborhoods, schools, daycare centers, senior facilities, recreational areas, prime farmland, and waterways.
A Portland Community College Aviation Sciences student is required to log 270 hours of flight time for certification. This translates into 11 days of noise per student. What does prosperity, equity, and quality of life look like for community members who are burdened with the noise, disruption, and pollution generated by these students?
What do prosperity, equity, and quality of life look like for residents whose right to the enjoyment of their property has been diminished due to the noise, pollution, and disruption caused by aviation activity?
Global Warming
Aviation is a fossil fuel dependent mode of transport and as such contributes to climate change. Responsible leadership in aviation must include a significant reduction in flight activity. Exemptions for aviation fuel must be eliminated.
As reported in a 10/14/2021 Bloomberg Green article, "The head of the United Nations challenged member states and the global body's own agencies to step up climate goals, saying current targets are far too lax. Targets set forth for shipping and aviation aren't aligned with the goal of limiting global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius set at the 2015 Paris Agreement, UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres said at a conference in Beijing. 'In fact, they are more consistent with warming way above 3 degrees,' he said. A new set of more ambitious and credible targets 'must be an urgent priority' for the UN's International Civil Aviation Organization and International Maritime Organization in the coming months and years, he said." What do prosperity, equity, and quality of life look like to those who experience extreme weather conditions, displacement and health problems resulting from global warming?
Concluding Remarks
Oregon Aviation Watch extends gratitude to the Port for opening up their agenda to discussions about the economic disparities and quality of life concerns long associated with the aviation industry. We urge readers to submit testimony addressing these issues.
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