Oct. 1, 2009 – Federal Court Rules Against Portland General Electric: Court Allows Air Pollution Case to Move Forward
A coalition of conservation organizations, including the Sierra Club , Friends of the Columbia Gorge , Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC) , Columbia Riverkeeper , and Hells Canyon Preservation Council, prevailed over Portland General Electric (PGE) in a decision denying PGE’s motion to dismiss the coalition’s lawsuit.
On September 30, 2008, the coalition, represented by the Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center (PEAC), filed suit against PGE for serious violations of the Clean Air Act’s health and environmental protection standards over the past three decades at the Boardman plant. In December 2008, PGE filed a motion to dismiss the case. Yesterday, the Federal District Court for the District of Oregon ruled against PGE and in the groups’ favor on all issues, allowing the suit to move forward. The decision is a significant victory for Oregonians.
Allison LaPlante , a PEAC attorney representing the coalition explained: “the coalition prevailed against PGE’s arguments that installation of better pollution controls could not be required at the Boardman plant.” PGE also lost on its arguments that it is too late to enforce violations of the law that have occurred for over thirty years at the plant.
Read more about the work of PEAC staff attorneys Aubrey Baldwin and Allison LaPlante on this case here.
