On May 5, 2020, the Washington Court of Appeals, Division III, ruled in Loyal Pig, LLC v. Department of Ecology that no five-year grace period exists for purposes of calculating the annual consumptive quantity of water (ACQ)...more
On January 16, 2020, the Washington Supreme Court (the “Supreme Court”) invalidated those portions of the Washington Clean Air Rule (“Rule”) that sought to regulate “indirect” emissions of greenhouse gases from businesses and...more
Industrial hemp, once grown throughout the United States and already the powerhouse behind the billion dollar cannabidiol (“CBD”) industry, is poised for a resurgence as an agricultural commodity. ...more
Advancing President Trump’s campaign promise to end the “war on coal,” on August 21, 2018, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) proposed a new rule to replace the Obama administration’s Clean Power Plan (“CPP”). ...more
New California Laws Stress Efficient Water Use for Cities and Farms -
From 2012 to 2016, California endured its worst drought on record, drier than any four-year period in the last 450 years. ...more
We previously issued an alert analyzing two interstate water compact disputes before the U.S. Supreme Court (“SCOTUS” or the “Court”): Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado and Florida v. Georgia. On June 27, the Court rejected...more
7/18/2018
/ Apportionment ,
Burden of Proof ,
Equitable Relief ,
Florida v Georgia ,
Original Jurisdiction ,
Remand ,
SCOTUS ,
Special Master ,
States Rights ,
Texas v New Mexico and Colorado ,
Water ,
Water Rights
The California legislature passed the Sustainable Groundwater Management Act (“SGMA”) nearly four years ago and its impacts are finally beginning to take shape....more
On March 12, 2018, we issued an alert analyzing the United States Supreme Court’s decision in Texas v. New Mexico, 138 S.Ct. 954 (2018), allowing the United States to intervene in an interstate water compact dispute between...more
On February 12, 2018, we issued an alert analyzing two interstate water compact disputes before the United States Supreme Court: Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado and Florida v. Georgia. On March 5, the Court ruled that the...more
What exactly does the “Hirst fix legislation” fix?
On January 19, 2018, after months of water rights and real estate uncertainty and legislative deadlock, Washington Governor Jay Inslee signed the “Hirst fix” into law....more
On January 8, the Supreme Court of the United States (“SCOTUS”) heard back-to-back oral arguments in two major water rights disputes between states: Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado, and Florida v. Georgia. While the merits...more
On Monday, October 16, 2017, the Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking in the Federal Register, marking the start of the formal process to repeal the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”)....more
On June 1, President Trump declared that he would withdraw the United States from the Paris Climate Accord (the “Agreement”). His announcement, though not unexpected, raises a host of questions on several legal, technical,...more
Just yesterday, we issued an alert that discussed among other things the uncertainty surrounding California’s cap-and-trade program under Assembly Bill 32 (“AB 32”). Today, that uncertainty has been lessened considerably,...more
This is the final installment in a three-part series examining carbon policies along the West Coast.
In California, legislators are debating the future of its cap-and-trade program beyond 2020, the state is defending...more
This is the second installment in the West Coast Carbon Policy Update — Three Part Series, which will examine carbon policies along the West Coast in Washington, Oregon, and California.
In 2007, Oregon passed legislation...more
This is the first installment in the West Coast Carbon Policy Update — Three Part Series, which will examine carbon policies along the West Coast in Washington, Oregon, and California.
While federal efforts to reduce...more
Global policy on climate change and greenhouse gas regulation is poised to take a significant step forward as the Paris Agreement (“Agreement”) enters into force just before international climate negotiations resume in...more
This presentation to the Northwest & Intermountain Power Producers Coalition (NIPPC) reviews the current direction of carbon-reducing public policy and legal trends and their impacts on power producers and developers both...more
10/3/2016
/ Cap-and-Trade ,
CARB ,
Carbon Taxes ,
Clean Air Act ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
FERC ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Liquid Natural Gas ,
Oil & Gas ,
SEPA
Many states have enacted their own laws to regulate greenhouse gas (“GHG”) emission reductions. Although the specific requirements of each state law differ, many of the laws incentivize the use of renewable energy and...more
On June 1 the Washington State Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) reissued a draft Clean Air Rule (“CAR”). A prior iteration of the rule was filed on January 6, 2016, but was withdrawn by Ecology to address and incorporate...more
Late last month, the United States Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) submitted briefs to the United States Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia in support of its Clean Power Plan (“CPP”) rule. The agency’s...more
On February 9, 2016, in an historic and unprecedented decision, the U.S. Supreme Court blocked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (“EPA”) from implementing the Clean Power Plan (“CPP”) while the rule is challenged in...more
The Washington Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) kicked off what promises to be a busy year in state-level greenhouse gas (“GHG”) regulation by releasing a first draft of the Washington Clean Air Rule (the “Rule” or the...more
EPA’s recently issued Clean Power Plan (“CPP” or “Plan”) affects every state differently. The Plan has a decidedly nationwide impact—reducing the United States’ power plant greenhouse gas emissions 32 percent by the year...more
9/14/2015
/ Carbon Emissions ,
Clean Power Plan ,
Climate Change ,
Coal Industry ,
Electricity ,
Energy Sector ,
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) ,
Global Warming ,
Greenhouse Gas Emissions ,
Hydropower ,
NAAQS ,
Obama Administration ,
Popular ,
Power Plants ,
RGGI ,
Tribal Governments ,
Tribal Lands ,
Utilities Sector