PORTLAND PRESS HERALD • June 23, 2025
A group says it has enough signatures to give Portland voters the chance to weigh in this fall on whether to limit coal piles in the city, targeting a 45,000-ton pile on a waterfront piece of land that has long raised complaints from neighbors. Coal Free Portland’s petition aims to bring “An Act to End Fugitive Coal Dust” to a referendum in November, which would allow city voters to decide on the pile removal. If passed, the move would require large coal piles to be permanently covered and eventually removed within the next few years. It would also seek to levy fines against entities or individuals not in compliance. Sierra Club volunteers who gathered signatures estimated that around 75% of voters they spoke to supported the petition, said David von Seggern, an outings leader who often walks by the pile in the West End.