In yet another setback, the Portland Water Bureau said Friday it will pause construction on its $2 billion Bull Run water filtration facility after Oregon land use officials sided with critics of the project. City officials said they don’t have a clear timeline for when crews will resume working.

Last month, Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals, or LUBA, sent back a land use decision to Multnomah County planning officials, ruling the filtration plant’s possible impact on natural resources east of Gresham hadn’t been “sufficiently evaluated”.

“While we respect the land use process and will fully comply with the remand, every day of delay drives up construction costs and increases the risk of missing our public health compliance deadline — challenges that directly impact our communities, businesses, and ratepayers,” wrote Priya Dhanapal, deputy city administrator for public works, in a statement.

Multnomah County planning officials must now define “natural resources” in their plans and then prove the project meets LUBA standards, according to city officials.

The city began construction in the summer of 2024. Portland Water Bureau applied for and was approved for a conditional-use permit to build the drinking water filtration facility and a communications tower. That decision drew opposition from some local residents and farmers, who worried about impacts on farmland and favored a cheaper option.

A coalition of community and agricultural groups later appealed the water filtration plant permits to LUBA, arguing the city did not make a clear enough case for needing to build on land zoned for agricultural use.

According to city officials, per state land use law, Multnomah County has 120 days from when LUBA overturns a permit to issue a decision, unless officials ask for an extension.

“There are many unknowns at this time – including the duration of the pause – but we’ll be working with the county and LUBA to better understand the timeline and project impacts in coming days and weeks,” water bureau spokesperson, Felicia Heaton, told OPB in an email.

This latest decision puts the city at odds with an order from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, which requires the facility be up and running by Sept. 30, 2027.

Delays in the project would likely translate to additional costs. Originally approved in 2017, cost estimates at that time put the project at around $500 million. Missing the 2027 deadline would result in federal fines, and even if construction can happen before then, tariffs from the Trump administration could drive up short-term costs for essential building materials like steel.

Earlier this month, the Oregonian/ OregonLive reported Portland is backing a legislative bill that would allow the project to sidestep Oregon’s land-use appeals process.

News Source : https://www.opb.org/article/2025/02/14/portland-bull-run-billion-water-filtration-plant-land-use/