In August 2020, we asked a simple question: will the Oregon Department of Energy (ODOE) allow a new fracked gas developer to flout Oregon law and begin construction for a huge new source of pollution?
In September, we got our answer: Yes. With ODOE’s blessing, backers of the 415 MW Perennial fracked gas power plant near Umatilla, OR, violated the Clean Water Act by beginning construction on a road for the project without a key construction stormwater permit. We have pictures to prove it, pictures of a shabby road in a dusty field for a fracked gas plant that should never be built.
The violation occurred despite a detailed Oregonian article in August highlighting the flaws in ODOE’s approach. Yet, the Perennial fracked gas project barreled ahead and built their road, ignoring Oregon’s rules and breaking the law. They knew we were watching. They did it anyway.
Today, October 20, Columbia Riverkeeper filed a 60-day notice to sue under the Clean Water Act. But going to court isn’t enough. Oregon’s climate future is on the line. The Perennial fracked gas plant would produce roughly 1 million tons of climate-changing pollution each year, putting it in the top five or six of Oregon’s greenhouse gas polluters.
Join us in urging Governor Brown to step in and stop Oregon EFSC from bending Oregon’s rules on behalf of a major new climate polluter in our state.
For more information and background on this controversy, check out our more in-depth description here:
