Important Milestone in the Fight for Clean Air

Oct. 1, 2009 -- Federal Court Rules Against Portland General Electric: Court Allows Air Pollution Case to Move Forward

A coalition of conservation organizations, including the Sierra Club, Friends of the Columbia Gorge, Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC), Columbia Riverkeeper, and Hells Canyon Preservation Council, prevailed over Portland General Electric (PGE) in a decision denying PGE’s motion to dismiss the coalition’s lawsuit.

On September 30, 2008, the coalition, represented by the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC), filed suit against PGE for alleged serious violations of the Clean Air Act’s health and environmental protection standards over the past three decades at the Boardman plant. In December 2008, PGE filed a motion to dismiss the case. Yesterday, the Federal District Court for the District of Oregon ruled against PGE and in the groups’ favor on all issues, allowing the suit to move forward. The decision is a significant victory for Oregonians.

Allison LaPlante, a PEAC attorney representing the coalition explained: “the coalition prevailed against PGE’s arguments that installation of better pollution controls could not be required at the Boardman plant.” PGE also lost on its arguments that it is too late to enforce violations of the law that have occurred for over thirty years at the plant.

Read more about the work of PEAC staff attorneys Aubrey Baldwin and Allison LaPlante on this case here.

PEAC Sues PGE Over Coal Fire Emissions

Apr. 22, 2009 -- The chairman of the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission said today that no new nuclear or coal plants may ever be needed in the United States. Read the Greenwire article.

Jan. 30, 2009 -- Representing a coalition of Oregon's leading conservation groups, PEAC filed comments today regarding the DEQ's Regional Haze Plan and BART Rule, which powerfully conveyed the belief "that the best outcome for the environment and electricity payers is the early and complete cessation of pollution accomplished through a binding commitment to shut the [PGE Boardman] plant down." Click here to read a copy of the filed comments.

Jan. 14, 2009 -- PEAC staff attorney Aubrey Baldwin speaks out about PGE's coal-fired power plant in Boardman. Read more about the clash over proposed state DEQ rules in the Daily Journal Commerce article.

Sept. 30, 2008 -- PEAC filed a complaint against Portland General Electric’s Boardman facility for past and continuing violations of the Clean Air Act and Oregon State Implementation Plan. Representing several conservation groups, PEAC notified PGE of its intention to sue in January 2008, but because the alleged violations were not remedied, PEAC filed a formal complaint with the federal court of Oregon.

Aug. 14, 2008 -- A PEAC-led coalition that uncovered Clean Air Act violations at the PGE-Boardman plant calls the state's plan to reduce pollution inadequate. Today's press releases from DEQ and our clients are only part of the story. Hear PEAC attorney Aubrey Baldwin's comments on OPB.

For more information about PEAC’s high-profile law suit against PGE, visit our AIR page.

PEAC Casts Perfect Storm Against DEQ

June 16, 2009 -- PEAC just finalized a settlement agreement with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (“DEQ”), which requires DEQ to implement a new system for regulating industrial stormwater discharges, replacing its current illegal general permit scheme.

PEAC commenced this lawsuit against DEQ, on behalf of Northwest Environmental Defense Center and Columbia Riverkeeper, to address DEQ’s failure to regulate adequately one of the largest sources of water pollution in Oregon.

The settlement will result in a complete revision to the current permitting scheme, and will result in more stringent limits on discharges, more frequent and meaningful monitoring of discharges, and a greatly strengthened role for citizens in monitoring and enforcing stormwater controls.

Staff attorney, Dan Mensher, will continue to push for more improvements in stormwater regulation as a member of the newly-formed Advisory Committee which will help to guide DEQ as it implements the new permit and the terms of the settlement agreement.

PEAC Tackles 21st Century Transit

Is making way for more cars and trucks the best way to address transit needs and global warming?

Mar. 30, 2009 -- Increased tensions over the Columbia River Crossing project surfaced last week in The Oregonian's editorial Betting on the Wrong Bridge. The Bicycle Transportation Alliance (BTA) was quick to respond with a Letter to the Editor published this past weekend.

Feb. 26, 2009 -- The Columbia River Crossing project won an award for its analysis of greenhouse gas emissions. In today's edition of The Oregonian, PEAC's managing attorney Tom Buchele "blasted the award as a sign of how poor the standards are for environmental analysis." Check out the full story.

Feb. 25, 2009 -- The Portland City Council voted to approve the latest bridge plan. Check out the KGW article and video and a guest opinion article in The Oregonian written by Portland Mayor Sam Adams and Vancouver Mayor Royce Pollard.

Read more about PEAC's advocacy concerning the $4.2 billion proposed I-5 bridge in Portland.

PEAC Finalizes Settlement with Paper Polluter

Dec. 19, 2008 -- Representing Willamette Riverkeeper, PEAC finalized a settlement agreement today with Blue Heron Paper Company, a major contributor of polluted water to the Willamette River.

Building off of PEAC's December 2007 victory against DEQ for improperly allowing Blue Heron to violate Water Quality Standards, this new settlement agreement will produce significant and long-lasting benefits for the environment.

Blue Heron has agreed to reduce its water intake and discharge by nearly 40%, and reduce its discharge of a host of pollutants, including temperature, turbidity, and aluminum. These improvements to the environment will be important for threatened salmon--which depend on cool, clean water--and other users of the Willamette River.

Staff attorney Dan Mensher currently leads the case, assisted by PEAC student Julie Nimnicht. The December 2007 victory was led by Melissa Powers, former PEAC staff attorney and current professor at Lewis & Clark law school.

PEAC Sues Grabhorn Over Toxic Trash

June 5, 2009 -- PEAC has moved for summary judgment against Grabhorn, Inc., the unlined landfill on the banks of the Tualatin River, for its violations of the Clean Water Act. PEAC filed this case on behalf of Northwest Environmental Defense Center and the Friends of the Tualatin River National Wildlife Refuge a year ago in order to protect water quality in the Tualatin River and prevent the Refuge and surrounding ecosystem from being harmed by the landfill’s illegal and unregulated discharges.

Dan Mensher, who is leading the case for PEAC, recently finished briefing the summary judgment motion and responding to Grabhorn’s cross-motion for summary judgment. The case revolves around the extent of the Clean Water Act’s jurisdiction and whether a set of ponds that are separated from the Tualatin River by a soil berm--into which Grabhorn, Inc. discharges a host of pollutants--are waters of the United States.

Read the opening brief and reply and response to the defendant's cross-motion. Oral argument is set for later this summer.

Jan. 15, 2009 -- Lawsuits over Grabhorn landfill continue to pile up. Catch the latest in the Beaverton Valley Times.

May 7, 2008 -- PEAC filed suit against Grabhorn, Inc., which operates one of the last unlined landfills in the Portland Metro region, for violations of the Clean Water Act.

Read the complaint.

The Lakeside Reclamation Landfill, located on the banks of the Tualatin River a mere 1,250 feet upstream from the Tualatin National Wildlife Refuge, is discharging toxic pollutants, threatening the health of the local ecosystem, which includes endangered salmon, rare amphibians, and countless bird species. The 50-year-old unlined landfill has contaminated local groundwater, threatening drinking water supplies and interfering with one of the Willamette Valley's finest wineries. PEAC's suit seeks to ensure that current pollution discharges are halted, and that the river, wildlife and local economy are protected long after the landfill is shut down.

Read about this case in The Oregonian, The Beaverton Valley Times and The Tigard Times.

Find out about PEAC's other water work.