This letter, sent on behalf of Richard Whitman, ECOS Cross-Media Committee Chair and Director, Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, states ECOS’ strong support for the EPA Safer Choice Program, which…
Oregon
Oregon DEQ Provides Virtual Training on Transition to Safer Workplace Chemicals
This week, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and Pacific Northwest Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) presented a two-day virtual training on substituting safer chemicals for use in…
Fifteen States and DC Sign MOU to Accelerate Bus and Truck Electrification
This week, 15 states and the District of Columbia signed a memorandum of understanding to accelerate bus and truck electrification and eradicate diesel emissions by 2050. The signatories will collaborate…
Oregon Partners in Salmon Conservation Research
Patches of cold river water, called refuges or CWRs, are vital to spawning salmon populations in river systems such as the Columbia in the Pacific Northwest. For this reason the…
Oregon Retrospective on Spill Cleanup Illustrates Value of State Environmental Agencies
The Oregon Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) recently published a retrospective  on a high-profile cleanup effort 21 years ago that offers important lessons for today. The wood-chip freighter New Carissa…
ECOS White Paper: Processes and Considerations for Setting State PFAS Standards
In recent years, federal, state, and international authorities have established various health-based regulatory values and evaluation criteria for a number of specific per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) in response to…
Group of 22 States Sues U.S. EPA over ACE
On August 13, a group of 22 U.S. states and 7 cities filed a petition for review of the Trump administration’s Affordable Clean Energy (ACE) rule. The lawsuit, filed in…
Oregon Legislature Passes Pharmaceutical Stewardship Bill
Oregon is soon to become the fourth state to pass a pharmaceutical stewardship bill, creating a comprehensive Extended Producer Responsibility drug take-back system. Several other states have more limited stewardship…
Oregon Enacts Legislation to Maintain Obama-Era Air and Water Standards
On May 22, Oregon Governor Kate Brown signed legislation that would enshrine Obama-era protections for air and water under Oregon law and limit the impacts of federal efforts to weaken…
Oregon, City of Portland to provide $24M in Superfund Agreement with EPA
Last week, the state of Oregon and city of Portland reached a deal with U.S. EPA to provide up to $12M each to the Portland Harbor Superfund trust. This public…