Photo by Rick Hafele
On Monday night, March 5, the Deschutes River Alliance filed a motion in Federal District Court, asking Judge Michael Simon to find Portland General Electric liable for its violations of the Clean Water Act at the Pelton Round Butte Hydroelectric Project. In this “Motion for Summary Judgment,” the DRA outlines well over 1,000 instances over the past several years in which PGE has failed to comply with water quality requirements for temperature, pH, and dissolved oxygen at the Project.
This motion is the latest step in the DRA’s fight to enforce the Clean Water Act and restore the Deschutes River. The document is now in the public record, but we link to it here for your convenience. In it, DRA argues that the relevant water quality requirements, and PGE’s own monitoring data, make clear that PGE is regularly violating the terms of the Project’s Water Quality Certification.
Background
The DRA brought this Clean Water Act “citizen suit” against PGE in August 2016. PGE is required to operate the Pelton Round Butte Project pursuant to a Clean Water Act certification, which identifies several water quality requirements—all agreed to as part of the Project’s licensing process—related to water discharged from the Project. These requirements are there to ensure that Project operations comply with all relevant Oregon water quality standards and, in turn, to protect aquatic life in the lower Deschutes River. However, since SWW operations began, PGE’s own monitoring reports demonstrate hundreds of days where the Project is not meeting these requirements.
In Fall 2016, PGE filed a motion to dismiss the case, arguing that citizen groups like the DRA do not have the authority under the Clean Water Act to bring a lawsuit like this one. In an important victory for advocates of clean water, DRA prevailed on that issue, allowing the case to move forward. Now, for the first time, the merits of the case have been presented to the Court.
Schedule Moving Forward
DRA’s motion will be followed by three months of briefing from both parties, culminating in a courtroom appearance for oral arguments on July 17. If the issues in this motion are not fully resolved after that appearance, a full trial will follow in early December.
Since this case was initially filed, we have completed nearly two years of research, analysis, and organizing—and won an important battle along the way protecting citizens’ rights to enforce the Clean Water Act. Now, we are thrilled to be moving forward to address the merits of this important case. The DRA believes that compliance with all water quality standards at the Pelton Round Butte Project is an essential first step to restoring this invaluable river, and we are eager for the fight ahead to ensure these standards are met.
As always, this fight would not be possible without your incredible support. To all the individuals, businesses, fellow NGOs, and foundations that have gotten us to this point: Thank you! Keep an eye on the DRA blog for updates on this case as they develop.
Below, watch the DRA’s newest video: A River Worth Fighting For.
Deschutes River Alliance: Cooler, cleaner H2O for the lower Deschutes River.
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