Celebrating 20 years of Environmental Justice work at Crag
By Courtney Johnson | October 2, 2024
Photo by Multnomah County. License bit.ly/44dKBAi.
In 2004, we launched our first environmental justice case and we’ve never looked back. Neighbors from a low-income neighborhood in Vancouver, Washington had been suffering for years from degraded sewer and wastewater systems. But the city refused to fix it, directing federal funds to richer neighborhoods instead. The neighbors complained to the Environmental Protection Agency about this discrimination, but were met with years of radio silence. In response, we filed a lawsuit against the EPA, and won — a landmark victory that forced the agency to respond to the Rosemere neighbors’ and others’ civil rights complaints in a more timely manner.
Iñupiat celebrating. Photo by Chris Winter.
Since then, the size and scope of our environmental justice work has grown. From supporting Alaska Natives in their fight to protect indigenous lifeways, to shutting down a major air polluter in West Eugene, our cases have spanned the Northwest. Realizing the limits of our current laws, we decided to expand our services to help our clients push for better environmental justice outcomes. In 2021, Rebeka Dawit joined our team to support environmental justice-focused organizations with their policy initiatives.
This year, we are celebrating 20 years of environmental justice work, with many more to come. In the following pages, you’ll see some of our biggest environmental justice wins over the years. You’ll also read about how we are infusing environmental justice principles across all of our programs, whether we’re working alongside Tribes to support native fish recovery, helping rural communities protect Oregon’s farmlands, or supporting a national coalition to make sure new off-shore wind energy projects protect our precious marine ecosystems. Lastly, you’ll learn how we work creatively to help our clients win — and how settlement agreements are a powerful tool to reach our client’s goals.
When we come together, we have real power to stand up for what we love. Photo from our 2024 Summer Party by Megan Gleason.
I hope these stories inspire a feeling of community and a sense of wonder at what we can do when we work together to fight for environmental justice.
Courtney Johnson, Executive Director
Courtney received her JD cum laude with a certificate in environmental and natural resources law from Lewis & Clark Law School in 2007. As a law student, Courtney interned with Crag Law Center, the Office of Compliance and Enforcement at the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, and San Francisco Baykeeper. Courtney joined Crag Law Center in 2008 as a Staff Attorney and was promoted to Executive Director in November 2018. She has served on the Board of Directors of Bark – the watchdog for Mt. Hood, and formerly chaired the Executive Committee of the Oregon State Bar Sustainable Future Section. When she is not working, Courtney enjoys spending time with her husband and dogs exploring the beautiful Pacific Northwest, cooking, playing soccer, and traveling.