| Press Release |
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| April 4, 2005 |
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Governor Announces Oregon Governor's Fund for the Environment
(Salem, OR) – Governor Ted Kulongoski and U.S. Attorney Karin J. Immergut today announced the creation of the Oregon Governor’s Fund for the Environment. The Fund, to be administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation, is dedicated to protecting and restoring water quality, fish and wildlife habitat and plant resources; identifying sources of water quality pollution; and improving state and local enforcement of environmental and wildlife protection laws.
The Fund is established with an initial contribution of $2 million as a result of the criminal prosecution of Panamanian shipping company Evergreen International, which pled guilty to 25 criminal charges this morning. Five of the alleged crimes occurred in Oregon. The United States and Evergreen reached a plea agreement that requires the company to pay $25 million – the largest criminal fine ever imposed on a defendant in a vessel pollution case.
The US Attorney’s Office for the District of Oregon helped prosecute the Evergreen case and directed a portion of the fine to create this new fund for the state. The United States Coast Guard, the Environmental Protection Agency Criminal Investigative Division and the Washington Department of Ecology each also played a critical role in the Evergreen prosecution.
“The Fund for the Environment demonstrates the kind of results we can deliver when all levels of government partner together on behalf of the citizens of Oregon,” Governor Kulongoski said, standing with Oregon U.S. Attorney Karin Immergut. “Grants from the Fund for the Environment will help us strengthen this federal-state partnership with our local communities by helping them restore habitats, clean up streams, and ensure our children have clean air to breathe and safe water to drink.”
U.S. Attorney Immergut said, “We must require criminal polluters to help protect the environment in the communities where they committed their crimes. The Governor’s Fund for the Environment will give us a way to ensure money from criminal fines can be spent locally on environmental projects.”
The Fund was created by Governor Kulongoski and U.S. Attorney Immergut with the goal of establishing a sustainable revenue source that is dedicated to local environmental clean up efforts focused on preserving and protecting Oregon’s rivers, watersheds, and fish and wildlife. The grant amounts will vary each year based on the interest earned on the principal and new funds deposited through criminal fines and additional private and public donations. The estimated grants in the first year total approximately $200,000.
“This fund will also help us move forward on my Willamette Clean-up Initiative by helping support the on-going efforts of non-profit organizations, watershed councils, soil and water conservation districts and local communities who join me in making this a priority for Oregon’s future,” said Governor Kulongoski.
Community service payments have become an important part of sentencing for criminals who violate environmental statutes. Last year, federal prosecutions in Oregon and Washington led to over $1.3 million in payments to the Columbia Estuarine Fund, another project administered by the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation. Grant recipients put those payments to use protecting salmon, eagles, sea birds and Columbia white tail deer. Prosecutions in Oregon have resulted in an additional $750,000 in community service payments this year alone.
Media Contacts:
Holly Armstrong, 503-378-6169
Dwight Holton, 503-727-1128 (USAO)
Krystyna Wolniakowski, 503, 417-8700 ext 22 (NFWF)
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