Sarah Danley

Northern California River Watch (NCRW) is a small nonprofit that works to protect the waterways of Northern California.  NCRW combines education, pollution prevention, enforcement and preservation to protect many different types of waterways and communities throughout the region.

I came to Lewis and Clark to learn about environmental law with an interest in eventually working in public interest environmental law. My work at NCRW allowed me to work towards this goal.  That work included research and writing memos regarding the Clean Water Act (CWA) and the Resource Conversation and Recovery Act (RCRA).  I was also able to draft CWA and RCRA letters for violators of the acts.  One of the best parts of working for a small nonprofit was the ability to work closely with the attorney who runs the legal portion of NCRW, which allowed me to see how a small nonprofit operates.  I was also able to improve my legal writing and research skills through direct interaction with the lawyer.  In addition I was able to attend several motion to dismiss hearings, a few pretrial settlement meetings and a nonbinding arbitration hearing on a major toxic torts case.