By Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council
The Portland Harbor Natural Resource Trustee Council has announced their first use of settlement funds to support on-the-ground restoration at Portland Harbor. This significant milestone involved purchasing ecological habitat credits from two Portland Harbor restoration banks: PGE/Harborton and Alder Creek.
For decades, natural resources in Portland Harbor, such as fish and wildlife, have been injured by contamination. Under Federal law, the Council has been evaluating how the contamination has harmed these natural resources and seeking compensation from polluters for that harm. Recent cash settlements with polluters that were undergoing bankruptcy provided the Council with funds to implement this action.
The Council’s 2021 Restoration Plan concludes that restoration banks will achieve the Council’s restoration goals. Restoration banks are large-scale projects built by commercial developers and other entities that restore a mix of habitat types and support a wide variety of native plants and animals found in and along the Willamette River.
Each project generates a specific number of ecological credits that can be purchased to resolve natural resource damages liability. These credits can be purchased using funds from cash settlements or accepting credits purchased directly from potentially responsible parties interested in settling their liability.
Using $2 million in bankruptcy funds, the Council worked with an auction company, Procurex, to run a reverse auction – a competitive process that achieves a fair market price for ecological credits at the time of the auction (noting that the price restoration bank developers charge may change over time).
Learn more at:
https://tinyurl.com/5n7br9jj.