SEPA & Environmental Issues

Our firm tried one of the first environmental insurance coverage cases, prevailing at trial and on appeal in both the Washington Court of Appeals and Washington Supreme Court. We successfully established the right of a prevailing party to recover litigation costs and fees associated with environmental cleanups. We have collected tens of millions of dollars for those injured by negligently operated landfills, wastewater treatment plants, and industrial facilities. Our team has recovered hundreds of millions of dollars to pay for environmental cleanup at gas stations, landfills, petroleum terminals, dry cleaning facilities, logging facilities, and other industrial sites throughout the Pacific Northwest. And we have successfully defended and prosecuted claims for contribution for environmental cleanups in state and federal courts, as well as successfully defending citizen suits under the federal Clean Water Act.

Environmental review, particularly under the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA), is often a critical step in the land-use process. Our land use attorneys regularly advise, negotiate, and litigate matters involving SEPA mitigation and other aspects of environmental review for projects of all types and sizes. We present concise and complete records for state and local agency decision-makers, prepare complete and often complex development agreements, and, when necessary vigorously challenge and defend Environmental Impact Statements and other SEPA documents before hearing examiners, superior courts, and Washington’s courts of appeals.