Way back when Cathy McMorris Rodgers was a freshman congressperson, she was chosen by the then chairman of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Richard Pombo, to head up a review of NEPA. A pretty big deal for a brand new congressperson. And anyone who thought his motives were noble would seriously be kidding themselves. And that includes McMorris Rodgers. She was a co-sponsor of H.R. 3824 back in September of 2005. She helped Pombo in his all out assault on the environment. (She was also on the Tom Delay whip team and she is a protege of Newt Gingrich)
I bring up this history to point out just what kind of representative she’s been from the start of her congressional career and also to point out the kind of representative Joe Pakootas would be in the Congress.
August 16th- from Joe Pakootas’ Facebook page comes this announcement :
Great news! I am very pleased to announce that the Colville Tribes will be awarded $8.25M in past response costs for my Pakootas v. Teck Cominco Case.
In 2004 I sued Teck Cominco, a Canadian mining corporation, for polluting the Columbia River and Lake Roosevelt. This case has been drawn out for many years and this company (and other irresponsible elected officials in our region) has spend millions of dollars to avoid being held responsible for poisoning the watershed and endangering the public and wildlife. I have been working hard to ensure that: Teck Cominco is held accountable for their actions, this doesn't happen again, the water and wildlife are restored to their pristine condition, and those who have been harmed are properly compensated.
I will continue to do the same environmental preservation work in Congress. If we don't have clean water, we cannot survive. This is an issue that should be important to everyone. Unlike my opponent, I will vote to protect our water and wildlife for our future generations.
(all emphasis added)
The link to the ruling is here.
Some more information on the case from the 2013 Watershed Heroes awards ceremony:
To say that the case of Pakootas v. Teck Cominco is a landmark case would be an understatement.To get to the merits of the case – cleaning up the river – has required navigating the intricacies of both the Superfund statute and international law. Along the way, the Colville Tribes have made legal history. Important rulings have included that:
•A company located in another country cannot deliberately send pollution into the United States and then claim it is out of reach of U.S. pollution laws.
•Ultimately, the question is not where the polluter is located, but where the pollution is located.
Last April, the court ruled that Teck could not escape liability by pointing the finger and blaming others for their own actions.
Last September, the case took a giant step forward when Teck admitted that it had knowingly and deliberately discharged 10 million tons of slag and toxic pollution into the Columbia River.
Then, just two months ago, federal judge Lonnie Suko ruled that Teck Metals qualifies as a polluter under the Superfund law.
Teck has appealed this ruling, so the plaintiffs are not home yet. But it is a fitting moment to celebrate and honor the extraordinary efforts and leadership of the Colville Tribes to achieve justice
Now we know the result!
We need Joe in Congress!
We really do have an opportunity. Cathy McMorris Rodgers’ solutions are useless. And it really is time for her to go!
Learn more about Joe Pakootas -WA-05
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