For years, the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality has offered pollution violators the option to pay for environmentally friendly projects to partially offset assessed fines. Now the department is working to ensure communities have a role in deciding what projects these fines will fund. Known as Supplemental Environmental Projects, or SEPs, up to 80% of ..read more

Ximena Cruz Cuevas Oregon DEQ’s own Ximena Cruz Cuevas was recently appointed to the Environmental Protection Agency’s 2024 National Environmental Justice Advisory Council. She is the only member from the State of Oregon representing both State and Local government, on the 26-member council that includes representatives from a wide range of backgrounds, sectors, and experiences in ..read more

Matt and his family at Joshua Tree National Park For October, DEQ turns the spotlight on Matt Davis. Matt joined the agency in 2017 and served in several positions, including managing air quality teams in Headquarters and Northwest Region, and spending several years representing DEQ at the Oregon Legislature as a Senior Legislative and Policy ..read more

We waste a lot of food.  To be exact, 2.2 pounds per person per week in Oregon But did you know that at the holidays, we waste almost 1 pound per person at a single holiday meal (estimated Thanksgiving food waste at ReFED 2022 – The Food Waste Solutions Summit)?  All that wasted food costs ..read more

After DEQ issued the Owens-Brockway glass recycling plant a $1 million fine in June 2021 for air quality violations, the company signed an agreement in October 2021 resolving the enforcement action and giving Owens-Brockway two options: install pollution controls or shut down. Owens-Brockway notified DEQ on June 30, 2022, that it intends to install pollution ..read more

Oregon Department of Environmental Quality staff and managers participated in two significant and successful public outreach events over the weekend of July 9-10: tabling at an Active Bethel Community event in Eugene and staffing a booth at The Big Float in Portland. In Eugene, DEQ provided information and answered questions Saturday about soil sampling in ..read more

After DEQ issued the Owens-Brockway glass recycling plant a $1 million fine in June 2021 for air quality violations, the company signed an agreement in October 2021 resolving the enforcement action and giving Owens-Brockway two options: install pollution controls or shut down. Owens-Brockway notified DEQ on June 30, 2022, that it intends to install pollution ..read more

We Oregonians are proud of the beautiful and diverse landscape of our state from the Pacific coast to mountains, rivers, waterfalls, desert, forests and farmland. Oregon also enjoys a “green halo” for our forward-looking outlook about the materials we make and consume to maintain our quality of life. But did you know that you live ..read more

Earth Day 2022 has come and gone, but I still think about the iconic “Earth Rise” image. Because I am a geographer, I recognize the collective and sweeping focus and perspective on air, land and water all Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s employees share in our common mission. For me and my own niche, it is such a privilege to work alongside dedicated DEQ professionals, and through the variety of ways the Regional Solutions program compliments and extends our work ..read more

My parents were depression-era Oklahoma farm kids who came of age at a time and place that required men and women to have practical knowledge about a bit of everything. They were carpenters, hunters, farmers, seamstresses, veterinarians and mechanics. They grew or raised their own food and preserved it for lean times ..read more