July 5, 2014 | Advocacy, Clean Water Act, Columbia Generating Station, Columbia River, Comments, Energy, Hanford, NPDES Permits, Nuclear Power, WA NPDES, Washington, Water Quality
The nuclear power plant formerly known as WPPSS No. 2, now called the Columbia Generating Station (CGS), has a permit to discharge wastes to the Hanford Reach of the Columbia River. A nuclear power plant uses a lot of water and chemicals in its cooling system. The...
July 5, 2014 | Advocacy, Arsenic, Clean Water Act, Copper, Cyanide, EPA, ID Copper, ID WQS, Idaho, Lawsuits, Mercury, Salmon, Toxics, Water Quality, Water Quality Standards
In response to a lawsuit filed by NWEA in June 2013, the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS) on May 7, 2014 issued a biological opinion (“BiOp”) finding Idaho toxic standards pose jeopardy to salmon and other threatened and endangered species. The...
March 31, 2014 | Clean Water Act, EPA, NPDES Permits, OR NPDES, OR Temperature, Oregon, Temperature, Water Quality
In July 2013, NWEA sent a letter to EPA Region 10 in Seattle asking the agency to weigh in on the Oregon practice of letting – even encouraging – municipal dischargers to dump their wastes into hyporheic zones of rivers. These hyporheic zones are where cold...
March 30, 2014 | Agriculture, Comments, CZARA, Lawsuits, Logging, Nitrogen, NOAA, Nonpoint Sources, OR CZARA, OR Dairies, OR Temperature, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Salmon, Water Quality
NWEA recently commissioned two expert declarations on how Oregon coastal logging and farming are affecting water quality. Dr. Chris Frissell’s declaration addresses the effects of logging on water quality, concluding that the best available science demonstrates “the...
March 28, 2014 | Advocacy, Agriculture, Comments, CZARA, EPA, Frogs, Lawsuits, Logging, NOAA, Nonpoint Sources, OR CZARA, OR Dairies, OR Temperature, Oregon, Oregon Coast, Salamanders, Salmon, Water Quality
Working with the Washington Forest Law Center, NWEA submitted extensive comments on the federal government’s proposed disapproval of Oregon’s Coastal Nonpoint Pollution Control Program. The comments support the proposed disapproval, focusing primarily on Oregon’s...
February 23, 2014 | Advocacy, Clean Water Act, Endangered Species, EPA, Lawsuits, Puget Sound, Salmon, Toxics, WA Temperature, WA WQS, Washington, Water Quality, Water Quality Standards
EPA Failure brings into question Washington’s water quality standards. In a sweeping case that addresses a wide variety of pollutants – from temperature to toxics – NWEA has challenged EPA’s failure to consult under the Endangered Species Act on its approval of...
