Environmental Law

Attorney General's Opinion on Exempt Wells

Posted on September 24, 2009
The Attorney General's opinion concerning exempt wells is now online

David Lester, writing in the Yakima

Posted on September 23, 2009
David Lester, writing in the Yakima Herald-Republic reports on the Attorney General's opinion on Ecology's authority to restrict new exempt wells. YAKIMA, Wash. -- The Washington Department of Ecology has legal authority to forbid new water wells, including the small, individual wells being tapped for new homes in Kittitas County, concludes an opinion from the state Office of the Attorney General...

The Sustainable Watershed Planning Act

Posted on August 25, 2009
Prof. Campana, the Aquadoc at WaterWired, reports on a bill being worked up in the US House of Representatives that aims "To provide for the sustainable use of the Nation's water resources through the coordinated planning of water resources and water infrastructure, and for other purposes...

Report of Meeting on Emergency Well Closure Rule in Upper Kittitas County

Posted on August 15, 2009
Dave Lester, writing in the YAKIMA HERALD-REPUBLIC, reports on a meeting held August 13th before the county commissioners. Ecology Director Manning attended and spoke. Apparently, the Attorney General will be rendering an opinion in September on the matter.

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Deal On Hanford Cleanup Reached to Settle State Lawsuit

Posted on August 12, 2009
Annette Cary writing in the News Tribune reports that a potential settlement has been reached in the 2008 lawsuit brought by the state to speed up the remediation of the underground storage tanks. Public comments will be taken before a consent decree in entered.

Tribes Not Liable Under CERCLA

Posted on August 10, 2009
On June 17, 2009,the US District Court for the Eastern District of Washington ruled that tribes are not "persons" under CERCLA, 42 U.S.C. Section 9601(21). The Court therefore granted the Tribe's Rule 12(b)(6) motion against Teck Cominco's counterclaims in Pakootas v...

Ecology Clarifies Its Emergency Closure Rule in Upper Kittitas County

Posted on August 09, 2009
Ecology: "The Department of Ecology (Ecology) has clarified its current groundwater closure in upper Kittitas County with the filing of an amended emergency groundwater rule. "The amended rule makes it clear that people with vested building permit applications or issued building permits in the upper county as of July 16, 2009, are not subject to the groundwater closure and may use permit-exempt wells...

Point Wells: Asphalt Plant to Urban Center?

Posted on July 28, 2009
Residential neighbors in Snohomish County and northern King County are concerned. Lynn Thompson, writing in the Seattle Times, describes the project and the concerns.

New Negotiations Set to Commence in Upper Kittitas County Exempt Well Controversy

Posted on July 26, 2009
On Friday, July 24, the Department of Ecology announced it will be renewing talks with Kittitas County concerning its recently announced emergency rule. . Quoting Ecology: At the request of Gov. Chris Gregoire, Washington Ecology Director Jay Manning met with Kittitas County Commission Chair Alan Crankovich and, as a result, negotiations regarding an alternative groundwater management rule will recommence as early as next week...

Exempt Wells for Stock Watering

Posted on July 25, 2009
Updating a previous entry on the Center for Environmental Law and Policy's (CELP) opposition to Easterday Ranches' proposed use of exempt groundwater for a new feedlot in Franklin County: On Jan. 8, 2009, Ecology denied CELP's petition for a declaratory order based on Easterday's right to decline to be a party to the proceeding...

Oregon State Senator Considers Selling Columbia Water to California

Posted on July 23, 2009
The East Oregonian reports that state Senator David Nelson made the suggestion while addressing the Rotary Club in Pendleton. Quoting the paper: Nelson said he tends to look at Oregon's natural resources in trying to figure out how to pay for state programs...

Teck America, Inc. Enters Voluntary Cleanup Agreement For Black Sand Beach, Upper Columbia

Posted on July 20, 2009
"The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) and Teck American Inc. (Teck) in Spokane this week signed a detailed voluntary agreement to remove slag from a beach area on the Upper Columbia River known as Black Sand Beach. The slag, which has the appearance of black sand, is an industrial byproduct from a metals smelting facility operated by Teck Metals Ltd...

Upper Kittitas County Closed to New Groundwater Withdrawals

Posted on July 17, 2009
From Ecology Emergency rule closes new groundwater withdrawals in upper Kittitas County YAKIMA ? The Washington Department of Ecology (Ecology) will file an emergency rule that closes upper Kittitas County to all new groundwater withdrawals, the agency announced Thursday, July 16...

CELP Opposes Exempt Well Water for Feedlot in Franklin County

Posted on December 28, 2008
The Center for Environmental Law and Policy (CELP) recently filed a Petition for Declaratory Order, seeking to have the Department of Ecology find that the stock-watering exemption of RCW 90.44.050 does not apply to feedlot operations. The petition takes direct aim at a 2005 Attorney General opinion to the contrary...

Private Dams Without Permits

Posted on December 24, 2008
Shannon Dininny reports on a surprising number of private, nonpermitted dams in the state.

The Tri-City Herald Opines on the Hanford Lawsuit

Posted on November 30, 2008
The Herald, the go-to source for coverage of doings at Hanford, thinks the recently filed lawsuit is "premature". Here is the State's 11/25/08 press release on the suit.

State Sues Feds Over Hanford Delays

Posted on November 26, 2008
The Tri-City Herald reports: "The state of Washington will file a lawsuit Wednesday in U.S. District Court in an attempt to force the Department of Energy to meet new deadlines to empty radioactive waste from underground tanks and treat it."

Army Corps Changes Its Mind

Posted on October 27, 2008
Michael Milstein reports on the Army Corps' withdrawal of a permit for a commercial dock on the Columbia River after the Port of Arlington, Oregon, completes 70% of the the structure, because the site is a usual and accustomed fishing station of the Umatillas...

Lawsuit Filed to Block Gravel Mine on Maury Island

Posted on September 11, 2008
The Seattle Times reports that a lawsuit has been filed in federal court to stop Glacier Northwest's mine on Maury Island in Puget Sound. Plaintiffs are People for Puget Sound, the Washington Environmental Council and Preserve Our Islands.

Hearing on Legacy Lots in Woods View Development, Kitsap County

Posted on August 23, 2008
This coming Monday, 8/25/08, at their regular which begins at 7 pm, the Kitsap County Commissioners will hear an appeal of the Hearing Examiner's decision. Christopher Dunagan reports on the issues in the Kitsap Sun.The meeting agenda is here (see page 6).

Hanford: Nuclear Regulatory Commission gives tepid approval to DOE work on the vitrification plant

Posted on August 13, 2008
The indefatigable Annette Cary, writing in the Tri-City Herald, reports on the NRC's review of DOE's progress in getting the vit plant up and running. I hope Ms. Cary plans on writing a book about Hanford -- someday.

Growth Management Act and the Shoreline Management Act: An Important Land Use Decision From The State Supreme Court

Posted on July 31, 2008
In a 5 to 4 decision issued today, the Washington Supreme Court held that critical shoreline areas in the state are now to be regulated under the rules and procedures of the Shoreline Management Act, not the Growth Management Act. The dissent argues that this is only to happen when the Department of Ecology approves new shoreline master plans...

Ecology and the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association Enter Into A Voluntary Regional Agreement

Posted on July 30, 2008
Department of Ecology "Ecology and the Columbia-Snake River Irrigators Association (CSRIA) have entered into a Voluntary Regional Agreement (VRA) as provided for in RCW 90.90.030. The purpose of this VRA is to provide new water for the issuance of drought permits to existing interruptible water rights holders and new water rights on the Columbia and Snake Rivers...

New Water Cop in Town

Posted on July 25, 2008
The The Chronicle OnLine reports that Tom Perkow has been appointed by the Department of Ecology to oversee water use by rights holders in the Columbia River Basin. Tip to Mr. Perkow: check for under utilitization on certificates. Use it or lose it is still the law in this state...

"End is near[er] for Hanford's K East Basin"

Posted on July 25, 2008
Annette Cary, writing in the TriCity Herald, reports on significant progess in remediating the highly radioactive K East Basin facility at Hanford. The K East Basin is very close to the Columbia River.

A Section of King County's Clearing and Grading Ordinance Struck Down by Court of Appeals

Posted on July 24, 2008
In an opinion filed July 7, 2008, the Court of Appeals, Division 1, struck down part of King County's clearing and grading ordinance (KCC 16.82.150, Clearing standards for individual lots in the rural zone) because it imposes an in kind indirect "tax, fee, or charge" on development, in violation of state law (RCW 82...

The Nisqually River Council

Posted on July 23, 2008
Rob Carson has an interesting article on the Nisqually River Council, and its cooperative approach to regulation, in the TheNewsTribune.com. Admittedly, a special case, but interesting nonetheless.

Oregon Objects to Dam Plan

Posted on July 23, 2008
The SeattlePI, via AP, reports that the State of Oregon has filed a "supplemental complaint" challenging the salmon protection provisions of the dam operating plan agreed to by the BPA and the Tribes(see entry for April 7 below). The article is sketchy on details.

Water Storage in The Yakima River Basin

Posted on July 22, 2008
The Yakima Herald-Republic Online reports that public turn out was light at a Department of Ecology meeting to discuss Black Rock and other alternatives for water storage in the basin.

NOAA Has Released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement on the Makah's Request to Hunt Gray Whales; Public Meetings Announced

Posted on May 09, 2008
"May 9, 2008: NOAA's Fisheries Service released a draft environmental impact statement (DEIS) and requested comments on the Makah Indian Tribe's February 2005 request to resume limited hunting of eastern north Pacific gray whales in the coastal portion of the Tribe's usual and accustomed fishing grounds, off the coast of Washington State, for ceremonial and subsistence purposes...

Feds and Tribes Agree to Work Together on Columbia River Salmon Issues

Posted on April 07, 2008
SalmonRecovery.gov "April 7, 2008 ? The federal action agencies (Bonneville Power Administration, the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, and the Bureau of Reclamation) are proposing to enter into agreements with four tribes to provide 10-year mutual commitments for fish restoration, particularly for Columbia River Basin salmon and steelhead...

Pipe Columbia River Water to the Colorado?

Posted on April 02, 2008
Laura Dobbins of The Daily Independent of Ridgecrest, California reports on seven ideas for getting more water into the Colorado River basin. In a report paid for by the Southern Nevada Water Authority, and presented to Secretary of Interior Dirk Kempthorne and water managers from the 7 Western states that share the Colorado River, one idea particularly caught my attention: Undersea pipeline - This would carry fresh water to Southern California from the Columbia River.

The Associated Press: 3 Accused of Shooting Whale Plead Guilty

Posted on March 29, 2008
The Associated Press Theron Parker, William Secor Sr. and Frankie Gonzales each admitted in U.S. District Court in Tacoma that they violated the Marine Mammal Protection Act, after prosecutors agreed they would not recommend jail time or seek to curtail the men's hunting rights...

Whaling Convention Act Charges Against Makah Five Dismissed For Vagueness; Other Charges Stand

Posted on February 20, 2008
PAUL SHUKOVSKY, reports on the federal case against the Makah whalers in the Seattle PI TACOMA -- A federal judge threw out half of the government's case Tuesday against five Makah tribal whalers accused of harpooning and killing a gray whale in September...

Defendants in Makah Whaling Case Raise Treaty Defense

Posted on February 14, 2008
Jim Casey of the Peninsula Daily News reports today that a motion to dismiss federal charges against the Makah Five will be heard beginning Tuesday in Federal District Court in Tacoma. A pretrial hearing on motions to dismiss federal charges against five Makah whale hunters will proceed on Tuesday...

"Washington Dept. of Ecology Asks FERC to Rescind Its First Hydrokenetic License"

Posted on February 14, 2008
From the law firm Stoel Rives LLP comes this report on Ecology's petition to have FERC rescind the license for the Makah Bay wave-energy project based on technical violations of the Clean Water Act and Coastal Zone Management Act. The Washington Department of Ecology ("Ecology") filed a petition on January 17, 2008 requesting that the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission ("FERC") rescind its first ever hydrokinetic license...

EPA Penalizes DOE and Contractor for Violations at Landfill on Hanford Site

Posted on December 03, 2007
EPA Press Release (Richland, Wash. ? Nov. 20, 2007) The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) have reached an agreement to address violations of the Hanford Federal Facility Agreement and Consent Order (commonly referred to as the Tri-Party Agreement or TPA)...

Kittitas County and Ecology to Enter into Talks on Exempt Wells: Aqua Permanente Petition Conditionally Denied

Posted on November 10, 2007
Mike Johnston of the Daily Record reports in today's edition that the county commissioners have agreed by a 2-1 vote to enter into talks with the Department of Ecology concerning exempt wells in the county. Quoting from Mr. Johnston"s article:"Commissioner Alan Crankovich, during the Friday meeting with Ecology Department officials, said the AIP [Agreement in Principle] only pertains to Upper County and doesn't commit the county to undertaking any land-use action -- it only lists the issues and topics the county and state will attempt to reach agreement on...

Kittitas County Offers Compromise on Exempt-Well Moratorium

Posted on November 04, 2007
Mike Johnston of the Daily Record reports on comments by Darryl Piercy, the county?s director of Community Development Services, concerning the Aqua Permanente demand for a moratorium on exempt wells in the county:"Piercy said the county supports ?reasonable measures? such as an interim state rule that would limit water withdrawals from each 20-acre, developed, rural site to 5,000 gallons per day with metering and monitoring of wells...

Kittitas County Exempt Well Petition

Posted on October 23, 2007
The Department of Ecology has a webpage concerning the pending petition to place a moratorium on exempt water wells in Kittitas County. Included are links to the Petition itself and a letter supporting the Petition from the Center for Environmental Law and Policy...

State Supreme Court Strikes Down Bainbridge Island's Moratoria on Shoreline Development

Posted on October 12, 2007
In an important decision that came down October 11th, a divided court found that the City of Bainbridge Island improperly invaded the state government's exclusive power to regulate shoreline development. "J.M. JOHNSON, J. -- Today, we review the Bainbridge Island City (City) Council's adoption of rolling moratoria, which imposed a multi-year freeze on private property development in shoreline areas...

Public Comment Period Open on Ecology's Draft 2007 Columbia River Water Supply Inventory

Posted on October 11, 2007
The Department of Ecology's Columbia River Basin Water Management Program's annual legislative report on the Columbia River water supply inventory is now available for public comment.Comments will be accepted until November 5, 2007. More information about submitting comments and scheduled public meetings is available at this link...

Update: Kittitas County Group Petitions Ecology for Limits on Exempt Wells

Posted on October 11, 2007
Ecology Announcement: "The Department of Ecology will host two "listening sessions" for the general public on ground water management in Kittitas County on Oct. 24 and Oct. 25, 2007. Ecology has received a petition from water right holders in the county seeking a temporary moratorium on new ground water wells in Kittitas County...

"Makah tribal members indicted in whale hunt"

Posted on October 06, 2007
From Vanessa Ho of the Seattle Post-Intelligencer "'We sought out the harshest penalties we believe we could find,' said Assistant U.S. Attorney Jim Oesterle. 'We believe this is egregious conduct, ... but these are the only statutes available to us at this point...

Makah Kerfuffle

Posted on September 16, 2007
Wayne Johnson, one of the men accused of illegally taking a gray whale in the Strait of Juan de Fuca, released this statement.When the U.S. Coast Guard ordered us to drop our whaling weapons last Saturday, we were just moments away from killing a gray whale that would have fed our Makah people...

Kittitas County's Growth Plan Struck Down

Posted on August 27, 2007
Mike Johnston, senior writer for the Ellensburg Daily Record, reports that the Eastern Washington Growth Management Hearings Board has struck down Kittitas County's growth plan." The state hearings board invalidated two land-use planning decisions contained in the county?s 2006 comprehensive plan and declared a list of other planning elements as out of compliance with the state?s Growth Management Act...

Ecology Wants Artificial Wetlands in the Basin Covered by Critical Area Ordinances

Posted on August 23, 2007
Shirley Wentworth, writing in the The Othello Outlook -- "In the Heart of the Columbia Basin," reports that the Department of Ecology wants wetlands associated with water from irrigation covered by the local CAOs."In a July letter to Adams County Planning Director Loren Wiltse, Ecology officials said that wetlands created from activities associated with the Columbia Basin Project should be included in the critical areas ordinance...

Alsea II: Judge Hogan Finds the NMFS Got It Right This Time

Posted on August 23, 2007
In an August 14, 2007 decision on cross motions for summary judgment, Michael R. Hogan, United States District Judge for the District of Oregon, found that the National Marine Fisheries Service could properly included some, but wasn't required to include all, hatchery stocks in determining the Endangered Species Act status of Environmental Significant Units (ESUs)of Pacific salmon and steelhead...

"Tribes win ruling on salmon"

Posted on August 23, 2007
Robert McClure writing in the Seattle Post-Intelligencer reports on a decision in a major federal case concerning salmon and the problem of culverts. "The state has breached its duties to Indian tribes under treaties dating to the 1850s by failing to maintain the road system, cutting off salmon from spawning grounds and robbing tribes of fish they were promised, a federal judge in Seattle ruled Wednesday...

Oregon Oasis Project Wrap Up from the NW Fishletter

Posted on July 07, 2007
In a July 2 article in the Northwest Fishletter, a service of Energy NewsData, an intelligence source on energy policy, market news, and resource development for the western US and Canada, Bill Rudolph presents an extremely interesting report on the demise of the legislation and the views of several of the movers and shakers involved...

"Veto threat scuttles Oasis Bill"

Posted on July 05, 2007
Capital Press Staff Writer MITCH LIES is reporting the Oasis bill is dead.Under threat of a veto, the Oregon Senate this week buried the Oasis Project and with it hopes of Eastern Oregon farmers to revitalize a farm economy suffering for lack of water...

A Pro Oregon Oasis Project Editorial from the East Oregonian

Posted on July 05, 2007
The Oregon Oasis bill appears to be stuck in the Oregon State Senate, with a threatened veto by the governor if it makes it out. The Klamath Basin Crisis group, a pro-irrigation group in Oregon, has reproduced an editorial from the East Oregonian on their website website...

Yakima Herald-Republic Not So Happy With the Feds' Efforts at Hanford

Posted on June 27, 2007
The editorial board of the Yakima Herald-Republic yesterday unloaded on the US Department of Energy for cost escalations and delays associated with the clean up at the Hanford Site. Hard not to feel some sympathy for the editors' point of view. On the other hand, no one seems to know how to do a clean up of this magnitude and complexity...

I wonder if Billy Clapp saw this coming?

Posted on June 24, 2007
Billy Clapp was an Ephrata lawyer and, along with Rufus Woods, one of the driving forces behind the making of the Grand Coulee Dam. His hopes for industrial development in his region were disappointed when the Feds established the BPA to export the power out of the immediate area at postage-stamp rates, i...

Oregon Oasis Bill Passed in State House: Update -- Governor Threatens Veto

Posted on June 22, 2007
The Oregonian reports that "Governor Ted Kulongoski threatened Friday to veto a bill that would allow eastern Oregon to draw more water from the Columbia River. "Kulongoski's note to Senate President Peter Courtney -- one of only a few veto threats issued session -- called House Bill 3525 'a gross violation' of an obligation to Oregon's neighboring states to not reduce river flows...

"State, feds enter negotiations over Hanford cleanup"

Posted on May 30, 2007
KOMO-TV - Seattle, Washington "RICHLAND, Wash. (AP) - Federal and state officials entered formal negotiations Wednesday over long-stalled projects to clean up the nation's most contaminated nuclear site, including an over-budget plant to treat highly radioactive waste, and the retrieval of that waste from underground tanks...

Too Many LAMIRDS, Not Enough Farm Land in Thurston County?

Posted on May 09, 2007
Keri Brenner, writing in the The Olympian, reports on the efforts by Thurston County to come into compliance with a 2005 decision by the Western Washington Growth Management Hearings Board that found the county's Comprehensive Plan created too many LAMIRDS (Limited Areas of More Intense Rural Development) and had established criteria for the designation of agricultural lands that did not protect enough resource lands...

Zoning Issues in Kittitas County

Posted on May 07, 2007
Although, according to Darryl Piercy, director of the county Community Development Services Department, over 96% of Kittitas County is zoned to require 20 acres or more for a home to be built, litigation and controversy is accompanying the county's efforts to allow land outside of urban areas to be zoned to allow one home on three acres...

Ninth Circuit Affirms District Court's Rejection of NOAA Fisheries 2004 Biological Opinion

Posted on April 11, 2007
Ninth Circuit Opinion In the latest decision from the US Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit in the ongoing salmon wars, the Court affirmed District Judge Redden's holding below that there were several structural flaws with the 2004 Biological Opinion?s jeopardy analysis, as well as defects in the Biological Opinion's analysis of impacts on critical habitat, and thus it does not not meet the mandates the Endangered Species Act (ESA)...

Hanford: Single-Shell Tank S-112 Emptied

Posted on April 07, 2007
Tri-City Herald -- By Annette Cary "Hanford workers have finished emptying radioactive waste from an underground tank that posed one of the greatest risks to the Columbia River, according to CH2M Hill Hanford Group. When work started to retrieve solid waste from Tank S-112 in fall 2003, it held 614,000 gallons...

GMA: When is Agricultural Land Not Agricultural Land?

Posted on April 07, 2007
Yakima Herald Republic Online - By DAVID LESTER "Yakima County and a rural property owner have won a third court decision in a longstanding dispute over changing farm land to a use that allows housing. A Yakima County Superior Court judge ruled Thursday that the county acted properly when it approved a 2001 rezone for almost 1,100 acres on Naches-Wenas Road, northeast of Naches...