What’s NEXT?
1000 Friends of Oregon, Columbia Riverkeeper and mint farmer Mike Seely appealed two land use permits for a rail yard associated with NEXT Renewables’ proposed non-conventional diesel refinery at Port Westward, OR. Read more
Cool It! Dept. of Ecology tells Army Corps: make a better plan to cool the Lower Snake River
Four reservoirs on the Lower Snake River trap the sun’s heat, making the water too hot for salmon. Columbia Riverkeeper has been using science and the Clean Water Act to ratchet up pressure on the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers (Corps) to reduce heat pollution caused by its dams. Read more
Fighting Fracked Gas at the Oregon Public Utility Commission
Earlier this year the PUC rejected all three of Oregon’s gas utilities’ long-term plans. The plans were inadequate because they were “unreasonably optimistic” about future gas demand as the region moves away from reliance on fracked gas and towards electrification. Read more
Hanford Holistic Settlement Released
U.S. Department of Energy, Environmental Protection Agency, and the Washington Department of Ecology (Tri-Party Agreement agencies) proposed changes to cleanup will alter treatment, storage, and disposal plans for highly toxic and radioactive waste currently stored in aging tanks and in soil beneath tanks. Read more
Stand Up to Factory Farms
Celebrating six years since Columbia Riverkeeper and the Stand Up to Factory Farms Coalition scored a victory when the Oregon Department of Agriculture finally revoked mega-dairy Lost Valley Farm’s permit. Read more
New Lawsuit Aims to Protect Levee and Farmland from NEXT Refinery
Columbia Riverkeeper & 1000 Friends of Oregon challenge Army Corps’ failure to review impacts of NEXT refinery construction on Port Westward levee Read more
Hanford’s Future Revised
The U.S. Department of Energy (Energy), Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), and the State of Washington released a settlement agreement regarding cleanup at the Hanford Nuclear Site. The proposed changes to cleanup will alter treatment, storage, and disposal plans for highly toxic and radioactive waste currently stored in aging tanks and in soil beneath tanks. Read more
What’s the Next Challenge Facing the Columbia River?
Get up to speed on the latest issues facing our communities thanks to “Locus Focus” on KBOO Radio, here’s four recent episodes interviewing our team. Read more
The Big Problems with Small Nukes
Here are a few answers to some of the most frequently asked questions Columbia Riverkeeper gets about Small Modular Nuclear Reactors. Read more
Bradford Island Superfund Site Update
This spring marks two years since Bradford Island and surrounding waters was listed as a Superfund site and we are still waiting for cleanup to begin. Read more
Zenith’s Bad Plan
A recent article in the Oregonian highlights Zenith’s dangerous plans to expand its operations in Portland which would bring more harmful pollution, more explosive trains through our communities, and continued handling of dangerous fuels. Read more
Oregon PUC Directs to Eletrification
The Public Utility Commission (PUC) declined to acknowledge Cascade Natural Gas’ proposed multi-decade investment plan at a meeting yesterday afternoon, deeming it insufficient to meet state climate targets. Read more