Winter 2024 Newsletter

The Winter 2024 Newsletter

A year of hurry up and wait

Pacific Northwest waters in Oregon, Washington, and Idaho continue to be plagued by high temperatures, too many toxics, and too little dissolved oxygen. The good news is that Northwest Environmental Advocates continues to make progress in reducing pollution.

The first story is about EPA’s permits to discharge pollution to Puget Sound, illustrates both how so much of our work is “hurry up and wait” and how so much takes place ingloriously behind-the-scenes. EPA invited public comments twice—in 2021 and 2023—and then issued the final permits this year, triggering a 30-day period in which NWEA could file a lengthy appeal. In other NWEA cases, long drawn-out court battles must be fought over what documents we can use to prove our case. It takes looking at thousands of records to build a successful lawsuit.

We greatly appreciate your support for our work to strengthen the Clean Water Act in the face of regulatory agencies that simply refuse to do their jobs.

Whether it’s behind closed doors, or in the public eye, with the help of our superb legal team we are bringing the change you want—decreasing pollution, restoring salmon habitat, reducing toxics, protecting human health, and seeking to reduce the effects of climate change.

When we go into court, we are representing your interests—our members—a job we do best with your support, whether that’s writing a declaration to support NWEA’s standing in court or making a financial contribution.

Best wishes for 2025
Nina Bell, Executive Director