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/ Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC)

Northwest Environmental Defense Center (NEDC)

NEDC was established by a group of professors, law students and attorney alumni at Lewis & Clark Law School in 1969. NEDC is an independent nonprofit organization working to protect the environment and natural resources of the Pacific Northwest.

Visit our official website and check us out on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram

Clean Water Victory!

Regularly updating water pollution permits spurs innovation and progress. Thanks to the legal team at the Earthrise Law Center and to NEDC board member Karl Anuta for years of hard work on this matter, and to Governor Kate Brown for including a major commitment in her newly-released budget to reduce Oregon’s water quality permit backlog.

Oregon DEQ Agrees to Settle NEDC’s Lawsuit to Reduce Pollution from Stormwater Runoff at Industrial Facilities

Summer 2018 Newsletter

Check out NEDC’s Summer Newsletter to read more about our recent work and other news

Environmental Regulators Ignore Junkyard Fire

Willamette Week journalists interview NEDC Executive Director Mark Riskedahl about this preventable catastrophe

Willamette Dams Litigation

We are partnering with Native Fish Society, WildEarth Guardians and Advocates for the West in a new lawsuit to press federal agencies to do more to protect salmon and steelhead

Lawsuit Filed to Address “Zombie Permits”

NEDC has filed a lawsuit seeking to require Oregon’s Department of Environmental Quality to address an enormous backlog of administratively extended Zombie Permits

air quality, air toxics

Cleaner Air Oregon

NEDC’s participation in the new air toxics regulatory reform effort, Cleaner Air Oregon, continues.

Oregon Floodplain Development Legal Victory

Working to manage floodplain development in Oregon to protect salmon and make our communities more resilient in the face of increasing threats from extreme weather events.

Air Toxics Testimony

NEDC’s Executive Director Mark Riskedahl was recently invited to provide testimony about air toxics regulatory oversight

NEDC

PGE's coal-fired power plant in Boardman, OR

New Study Shows Mercury Controls Also Reduce Other Pollutants

NEDC’s advocacy for mercury control technology at Oregon’s only coal-fired power plant has additional side-benefit of dramatically reducing other pollutants as well

advocacy, civic engagement, community engagement, education, environment, law, NEDC, Pacific Northwest, Portland, public service, student

NEDC by the Numbers

Here is a quick summary of some of the things we’ve achieved over the past five years, by the numbers.

CWA, environment, law, NEDC, NPDES, Pacific Northwest, Pollution, Portland

Seeking Stronger Oversight for Permit Renewals

Reducing polluted runoff from industrial facilities continues to be one of NEDC’s highest priorities.

Hannah Clements, 2L, NEDC Law Clerk and Wyss Scholar

Hannah Clements Named Wyss Scholar

Lewis & Clark Law School is pleased to announce that Hannah Clements ’20 is the second Wyss Scholar to be selected from the law school. The Wyss Foundation is a private, charitable organization dedicated to western public lands issues, and its Scholars Program supports graduate-level education for the next generation of leaders in western land conservation.

Appeal of State Issued Crude Oil Terminal Air Permit

NEDC along with various other environmental groups filed a petition for reconsideration asking DEQ to reconsider its decision to authorize an air permit for a major crude oil transloading facility on the Columbia River.

Clean Air Act, collaboration, environment, law, NEDC, Oregon, Pacific Northwest, Pollution

NEDC files petition to redesignate Lakeview as Nonattainment

Lakeview’s persistent violations of federal particulate matter standards endangers public health and the environment.

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Past Events

September 16, 2025

NEDC Environmental Justice Project Group Meeting

Interested in getting more involved in NEDC’s Environmental Justice Project Group? Come learn about projects and opportunities to volunteer!

August 27, 2025

Northwest Environmental Defense Center Info Session

Join us to learn about the Northwest Environmental Defense Center (www.nedc.org/) and upcoming events! NEDC is an independent environmental nonprofit organization on campus, providing hands-on experiences for students interested in environmental law. Come learn more about the organization, our upcoming Westwind Retreat (www.nedc.org/events/westwind/), and exciting opportunities to get involved!

March 19, 2025

NEDC Weekly Speaker Series: Oregon Climate Legislation

Green Energy Institute (GEI) attorney Jamie Johnson will be speaking to students about Oregon’s recent energy-centric legislative sessions. Join us to hear about GEI’s involvement in the process and the future of energy law in Oregon.

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