Stopping Pollution

Riverkeeper cracks down on illegal pollution by enforcing the Clean Water Act. In recent years, Riverkeeper brought legal actions against more than 50 facilities that discharged illegal pollution. Our lawsuits deliver results; we stop 50,000 pounds of toxic pollution per year. 

We use the law and grassroots organizing to ensure corporations and the federal government clean up toxic waste sites on the Columbia River. Learn more about Riverkeeper’s campaign to hold the federal government accountable for toxic pollution near a popular fishing area: the Bradford Island cleanup.

State and federal decisionmakers often buckle under pressure from corporations. That’s where we step in. Riverkeeper challenges government decisions that ignore the law and the public’s right to clean water.

Riverkeeper works for accurate, protective toxic pollution limits—called water quality standards—to reduce cancer-causing pollution in the Columbia. Water quality standards set limits on how much pollution is allowed in a river—that’s important. While it’s not glamorous to push state agencies to adopt better pollution limits, that’s what we do!

Riverkeeper supports studies to understand how pollution impacts the Columbia’s fish and wildlife. By sharing our water quality data with government agencies, partnering with academic institutions, and hosting science education events, help everyone better understand the Columbia.

Thousands of facilities in Oregon and Washington hold permits to discharge pollution into the Columbia River. Our legal team evaluates permits and advocates for tougher pollution limits.