John Kroger Commemorates Earth Day with Environmental Policy and New List of Green Supporters

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
April 22, 2008
CONTACT: Ben Unger, 503-351-8833 John Kroger Commemorates Earth Day with Environmental Policy and New List of Green Supporters  To commemorate Earth Day, John Kroger released an updated plan for protecting Oregon's environment and announced a growing list of environmental supporters.

Kroger has prioritized improved environmental protection and enforcement at every campaign stop.  He believes the Attorney General can make Oregon a national leader in environmental protection.  His emphasis on keeping Oregon green won him the support of the Sierra Club and environmental leaders from across the state.

"What Oregon needs is a proven leader to protect our environment.  John Kroger is that leader.  He has the toughness and experience to take a strong stand against polluters," said Brett VandenHeuvel a staff attorney for Columbia Riverkeeper.*  "As the first statewide candidate for office to come out against LNG [Liquefied Natural Gas terminals], he's already shown he'll do what's right for Oregon."
 
Kroger, an award-winning Lewis & Clark Law School professor and a former federal prosecutor, aims to protect our state's natural beauty by improving Oregon's weak environmental enforcement.  Portland is the third most toxic city in the nation, according to a recent BusinessWeek report. Multnomah County ranks in the top 1 percent of counties nationwide for cancer-related threats due to air pollution. And every single major river in Oregon has failed water quality standards for at least one pollutant.

"As Attorney General, I will work every day to make sure that Oregon is a national leader in environmental protection," said Kroger

Here is John Kroger's full plan to protect Oregon:

Unfortunately, we have a lot of work to do. According to a recent BusinessWeek report, Portland is the third most toxic city in the nation. Multnomah County ranks in the top 1% of counties nationwide for cancer-related threats due to air pollution. The great progress Oregon was making in water quality ten years ago has now stalled, and in some places, we are going backwards. And every single major river in Oregon has failed water quality standards for at least one pollutant.

How did we get this way? The answer is poor environmental enforcement. We put good environmental laws on the books, but then we allow polluters to ignore them. One Portland company, for example, dumped highly toxic chromium, which causes cancer and organ failure, right into our sewer system and out to the Columbia River. The government caught the company violating the law 61 times over a three-year period, but no one tried to stop the illegal dumping. Instead, the government simply fined the company a pittance - about $151 per violation. That is a smaller fine than you would get if you accidentally ran a red light.

Tougher Environmental Enforcement
I believe it is time to take action to protect Oregon's air, water and land. As a prosecutor, I took on powerful interests like Enron, international drug cartels, and the mafia. Now, I am ready to go after polluters with a tough new approach to environmental enforcement. As Attorney General, I will hold every polluter responsible for the damage they cause to our health and our environment by seeking higher fines for violators, and not just slaps on the wrist. Instead of settling cases out of court for inappropriately small amounts, we will take cases to court and fight to vindicate the public interest. For the worst repeat offenders, I will work with district attorneys and use my own criminal enforcement powers to bring criminal charges against company executives- not just fines, but indictments and prison time. And to help make this possible, I will use the office's bully pulpit to lobby the legislature for more funding for the Department of Environmental Quality. Polluters will be sent a clear message: you cannot trash Oregon.

Fighting Climate Change
The biggest environmental challenge we face is climate change. Oregon and other states are starting to adopt new laws to reduce the amount of carbon dioxide dumped into the atmosphere. I strongly support these efforts, but laws limiting carbon emissions will be a dead letter unless we have an Attorney General with the courtroom experience needed to make compliance a reality. I am deeply committed to tackling climate change, and to helping draft and pass laws with real teeth to limit the damage we are doing to our world. I will do everything in my power to enforce any new laws put on the books, and I will cooperate closely with my Attorney General colleagues to make sure that our efforts are not undone by less aggressive enforcement efforts in neighboring states.

Protecting Oregon's Land Use Planning System
Oregon is the most beautiful state in the nation. To keep it that way, I strongly support our landmark land use planning system. I strongly supported Measure 49, to preserve reasonable land use planning in the state. As Attorney General, I will work with state, county and local officials to implement the law as quickly and efficiently as possible. I will fight to protect Measure 49 in Oregon's courts. And I will work hard to block any illegal end-runs around the law that ignore the will of the people and threaten our farms, forestland, and open spaces.

Holding the Federal Government Accountable
In recent years, the Bush Administration has recklessly flouted our nation's environmental protection, endangered species, and forestry laws. I think this has to stop. If the federal government violates the law, I will partner with environmental organizations and take them to court.

Opposing Liquefied Natural Gas (LNG) Plants in Oregon
I was the first candidate for statewide office to publicly oppose LNG in Oregon.  I oppose those plants for two reasons.  First, LNG would increase our dependence on foreign fossil fuels.  Oregon needs to be a leader in bringing energy independence to the United States through renewable resources and increased energy conservation. LNG would send us in the opposite direction. Second, the proposed LNG terminals would have a serious impact on Oregon's environment, because the proposals involve extensive dredging in sensitive waterways, lengthy pipelines over both private and public property, and a significant risk of devastating gas spills. 

The current environmental leaders supporting Kroger are:

Former Governor John Kitzhaber
The Sierra Club
Henry Richmond
Sue Marshall, former Executive Director, Tualatin Riverkeepers*
Brian Wegener, Tualatin Riverkeepers*
Ralph Bloemers, Co-Executive Director, Cascade Resources Advocacy Group (CRAG) Law Center*
Chris Winters, Co-Executive Director, Cascade Resources Advocacy Group (CRAG) Law Center*
Brent Foster, Executive Director, Columbia Riverkeeper*
Mark Riskedahl, Executive Director, Northwest Environmental Law Center*
Dan Rohlf, Executive Director, Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center*
Mac Lacy, Oregon Natural Desert Association*
Melissa Powers, Staff Attorney, Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center*
Allison Laplante, staff attorney, Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center*
Dona Hippert, Porteon Electric Vehicles, Inc.
Brad Hippert, Porteon Electric Vehicles, Inc.
Chris Dearth, former environmental advisor, Governor John Kitzhaber
Dan Belica, President, Columbia Riverkeeper*
David Moskowitz
Brett VandenHeuvel, staff attorney, Columbia Riverkeeper*
Charlie Tebbutt, staff attorney, Western Environmental Law Center*
Gretchen Valido, co-chair, Juniper Group, The Sierra Club
Dan Serres, Friends of Living Oregon Waters*
Aubrey Baldwin, staff attorney, Pacific Environmental Advocacy Center*
Ivan Maluski, Conservation Coordinator, Oregon chapter of the Sierra Club
Susan Shawn, Urban Green
Gerik Kransky
Erik Stachon
Olivia Schmidt
Peter Wilcox
Nathan Baker

* Title for identification purposes only