Portland pauses $2 billion water filtration project over land use ruling

Portland has halted construction of its $2 billion Bull Run water filtration plant after Oregon’s Land Use Board of Appeals ruled that the project’s environmental impacts were not fully assessed. The decision sends the land use permit back to Multnomah County, which must now re-evaluate the project’s effect on natural resources near Gresham.

The project, intended to serve nearly one million residents, faces a federal deadline of September 30, 2027, under an EPA mandate. Delays could increase costs and risk noncompliance. Originally estimated at $500 million in 2017, the plant has since drawn opposition from local groups over its siting on farmland.

City officials have not set a new construction timeline and are supporting state legislation to bypass further land use appeals.