Oregon bill tackles megaquake ‘nightmare’: Fuel storage site

By ANDREW SELSKY
Associated Press

Scientists say Oregon faces a potential nightmare scenario unless work is done to fortify its main fuel storage facility against a major earthquake. More than 90% of Oregon’s liquid fuels are stored at a facility next to the Willamette River in Portland. State lawmakers have begun taking steps to compel the owners and operators of the facility’s aging storage tanks to make them earthquake resistant. The Critical Energy Infrastructure Hub is built on soils subject to liquefaction in an earthquake. Experts predict a massive earthquake could occur any time along the Cascadia subduction zone, which runs from offshore Northern California, Oregon and Washington state to Canada.