Make Polluters Pay and the Environmental Rights Amendment

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Alan Journet

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Jan 25, 2026, 8:15:16 PMJan 25

to SOREEL

As promised, here are some notes regarding these efforts.

Make Polluters Pay:

Make Polluters Pay is also known as the Climate Resilience Superfund Bill. It will be introduced at the start of the 2026 Oregon Legislative Session and would assign the Department of Land Conservation and Development (DLCD) as the lead agency, the Department of Environmental Quality, the Oregon Climate Action Commission and the Oregon Climate Change Research Institute, the task of determining the cost to Oregon of climate change from 1994-2024. The Proposal also establishes a Climate Superfund Cost Recovery Program and account supervised by DLCD. Funds assigned to this account come from any entity that has done business in Oregon between Jan 1, 1995, and Dec 31, 2024, and is responsible for over one billion metric tons of global covered greenhouse gas emissions. Such entities are responsible for paying into the Superfund a proportion of the cost of climate change to Oregon equivalent to their proportion of global emissions. These funds are distributed by DLCD to support climate change adaptation projects and are assigned 30% to the State Fire Marshal and 40% for climate change adaptation projects that benefit environmental justice communities.

Essentially, the bill will require fossil fuel companies to pay their fair share for past damages arising from their climate pollution from 1995-2024. They will be able to pay this over a series of annual installments.

If you are interested in endorsing this effort, please sign the petition:

Sign the Petition to Make Polluters Pay.

The Right to a Healthy Environment

This is a project of the Oregon Coalition for an Environmental Rights Amendment (https://www.oceraunited.org/) . It constitutes an effort to amend the Oregon Constitution to incorporate the right of Oregonians to enjoy a safe and healthy environment.

The amendment will allow Oregonians to file suit to force agencies to enforce environmental laws on the books. Note that suits will not be filed against businesses. The expectation is this will make our agencies more likely to insist on compliance with our laws so businesses not behaving in a socially responsible manner are encouraged to adjust their business model to do so.

You can endorse the effort here

If you are interested in volunteering to assist either of these efforts, please contact me at this email: al...@socan.eco

For more information about SOCAN visit socan.eco.

Youth v Gov will be screened at the Medford Public Library (Large meeting room) on Tuesday January 27th from 6:00 - 8:00 pm

Our Civic Engagement Workshop will be Sunday February 7th at the same location (Adams room) from 3:00 - 5:00 pm.

All the best,

Alan

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Alan Journet

Co-facilitator
Southern Oregon Climate Action Now (SOCAN)

https://socan.eco

Adjunct Faculty