Job Generation, Development and Environmental Practices at the Port of Vancouver

Helping Make SW Washington a Great Place to Live and Work

The Port of Vancouver USA’s purpose is to bring jobs and revenue to our community. Port land is developed for maritime and industrial businesses that provide living-wage jobs, revenue for local and regional public services and a vital connection to the international marketplace. 

Bringing Jobs Home
The port and businesses located on the port create about 2300 direct jobs, with nearly $99 million in annual payroll.  The port plans to add between 4,000-5,000 more jobs within the next 15 years with the development of the former Alcoa aluminum smelter property, light industrial property north of Lower River Road, and, in the longer-term, at the Columbia Gateway property.

Helping to Fund our Community’s Future
In addition to providing jobs, the port generates revenue for our schools, police and fire services, roads, and other essential public services.  This revenue comes from taxes, payroll and disposable income generated by port tenants, customers and their employees. The port currently provides about $82 million in tax revenue each year, and expects to double this revenue in the next 15 years.

Keeping Our Community Livable

Environmental stewardship is central to how the port does business. As members of this community, we are committed to keeping our air, land and water clean, taking care to preserve natural spaces, and finding transportation options that reduce emissions. 

Clean Air, Land and Water
In 2006, the port switched its fleet to alternative fuel. We conduct annual environmental audits with our tenants to ensure we keep our environmental commitments, and help businesses find greener, more efficient ways to operate. 

The port uses a stormwater treatment system that treats 99 percent of runoff from our facilities. We have returned contaminated and under-utilized land to productive use, and manage property to prevent re-contamination. This includes industrial properties, as well as cleaning up areas affected by past contamination. 

Our Natural Places
As the port grows, we will be responsible for creating new habitat and wetlands to compensate for the development of land for businesses we bring to the community. The port has designated several habitat areas for this purpose. One of these areas is the proposed 165-acre wetland mitigation bank that will create, restore, and enhance wetlands and can be used, to compensate for Port of Vancouver and other Clark County area projects. This wetland bank, the first of its kind in the Vancouver Lowlands, will create wetlands before they are required–a “deposit” of habitat to be used to compensate for future development.

Vancouver Lake is a valuable resource to our community that shows signs of decades of human impacts.  As a member of the Vancouver Lake Watershed Partnership, the port is working with our agency partners and the community to find a solution to this important natural resource.  For more information about the Partnership, visit www.ci.vancouver.wa.us/PublicWorks/vancouverlake/index.htm.

Smart Transportation Solutions
We believe moving people and goods between the port and the community must be done responsibly and creatively. As a port of entry and an industrial center, we are improving rail service that will help our rail-dependant businesses use the national rail network, rather than depend on using local streets and highways. The port and its businesses share the roads with our neighbors. We are working with our tenants to encourage people who work on port property to carpool, vanpool and use transit options. We hope to expand this program as the port grows.

Projects that Shape Our Community’s Future

West Vancouver Freight Access Project
The Port of Vancouver is fortunate to be located at the nexus of two national rail mainlines. The port relies on rail service for more than 70 percent of its cargo transportation. This number is expected to increase to over 80 percent, up to 160,000 rail cars per year by 2025.

The West Vancouver Freight Access Rail Project will provide unit-train capacity within the port – trains that are over 110 cars or about 7,000 feet long.  Rail shippers in the United States are now moving cargo using these long, one-haul trains that allow them to take advantage of one of the most fuel efficient forms of transportation. Rail transportation can carry one ton of freight over 430 miles on just one gallon of fuel.

A Collaborative Rail Project

The port’s rail project is a lynch pin in changing the face and function of Vancouver’s western waterfront.  Working with the City of Vancouver, Boise Cascade, BNSF Railway Company and Columbia Waterfront LLC (a.k.a. Gramor), Vancouver will one day soon have a thriving urban waterfront. The port created new rail access from the BNSF Railway mainline that re-routes rail service around the future site of Vancouver’s western waterfront development, allowing a new waterfront to be built.

The port project is also the key to the Washington State Department of Transportation’s Vancouver Bypass project that will increase passenger rail service capacity.  The realignment of port rail underneath the Union Pacific Railroad bridge will remove a chokepoint that would continue to cause delay to both passenger and freight rail on the West Coast mainline.

New Terminal 5 - (Former Alcoa/Evergreen Properties)
The Port of Vancouver USA, has purchased 218 acres of land owned by Alcoa Incorporated and Evergreen Aluminum LLC, located next to the Columbia River. The port intends to develop the land for maritime and industrial use, and lease to various businesses, potentially generating approximately 1000 new jobs. For more information on the project including public comment periods please access the Departement of Ecology's website at www.ecy.wa.gov/programs/swfa/industrial/alum_alcoavan.htm

North Industrial Properties
Additional property (100-plus acres) north of Lower River Road is zoned light industrial. The port has begun preparing approximately 50 acres for near-term development, with the remaining expected to be developed later.  

Columbia Gateway
Columbia Gateway is a maritime and industrial reserve that will be potentially developed within the next 10–15 years.  Future Columbia Gateway development plans include approximately 450 acres of new maritime and industrial development, and more than 550 acres of wetland and habitat enhancement.

Including the Community

Vancouver and Clark County residents, businesses and community organizations all have a stake in the port’s ability to develop its properties and create new jobs. Your comments and involvement are encouraged and appreciated. Watch our web site for meeting announcements, or contact us directly at info@portvanusa.com.