Local brief
Oregon DEQ advisory committee meets Oct. 9 on rules making big fuel terminals prove they can pay for a spill
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality's rulemaking advisory committee on certificates of financial responsibility for large bulk fuel and oil terminals meets online Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, 9 a.m. to noon, with public comment from 11:30 to 11:50 a.m. Notice Nearby brief, not Legal Publication.
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) will hold the second meeting of its rulemaking advisory committee on certificates of financial responsibility on Friday, Oct. 9, 2026, from 9 a.m. to noon. The meeting is online and open to the public to watch.
What the rules are about: House Bill 4100 (2026) requires large bulk fuel and oil terminals in Oregon to carry financial assurances that can cover spill-related costs, including spill response, cleanup and damages, up to $300 million. DEQ is writing the rules to put that law into practice and, where appropriate, to match federal standards and Washington state's financial responsibility requirements. Under the statute, bulk fuel terminals must apply to DEQ for a certificate of financial responsibility by March 31, 2027. In plain terms: if something leaks, the bill should land on the terminal, not on the river or the taxpayer.
How to watch: join on Zoom at https://ordeq.org/cofr-rac-2 , or by phone at 253-215-8782 with webinar ID 892 1049 6801 and passcode 570286. The public can observe but not take part in the committee discussion. DEQ has set aside 11:30 to 11:50 a.m. near the end of the agenda for verbal public comments.
Catch up first: the committee's first meeting was Aug. 28. Its materials and a meeting summary are on the DEQ rulemaking page, and the recording is on YouTube at https://youtu.be/Yexlm1b4uEc .
What comes later: DEQ says it will open a formal public comment period on the proposed rules, including a public hearing, later in the process. DEQ says it weighs verbal and written comments equally and may revise the rules based on what it hears. Questions go to Killian Stoltenburg at DEQ, 971-295-8734 or Killian.stoltenburg@deq.oregon.gov. The rulemaking is part of DEQ's Fuel Tank Seismic Stability program.
Official sources: DEQ rulemaking page, Certificates of Financial Responsibility / Fuel Tank Seismic Stability 2027: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/rulemaking/Pages/FTSS2027.aspx ; Fuel Tank Seismic Stability program: https://www.oregon.gov/deq/ss/pages/default.aspx
This is a Notice Nearby publisher-desk brief based on a DEQ GovDelivery email sent to publisher@noticenearby.com on Oct. 5, 2026. It is not a legal notice and not Legal Publication. Photo: a 1973 aerial view of an oil tank farm and tanker pier on Puget Sound near Richmond Beach, Washington (an archive photo for illustration, not an Oregon terminal), by Doug Wilson for the U.S. EPA DOCUMERICA project, National Archives, public domain, via Wikimedia Commons (resized).
Source: the public notice on this register NN-PUBDESK-20261005-ORDEQ-10 · Oregon Department of Environmental Quality · Rulemaking advisory committee meeting, Certificates of Financial Responsibility · Oct. 9, 2026.
This is a Notice Nearby local brief — an in-house explainer written from a government-posted notice on this register. It is not official minutes, not a newspaper story, and not Legal Publication.