Areas of Practice | Cascadia Law Group

Air Quality & Climate Change

Because air pollution has such serious and wide-ranging effects, especially given advancements in our understanding of its influence on climate change, air quality is one of the most important environmental issues we face.

Endangered Species & Natural Resources

The Northwest has long valued its natural resources. In recent years, the Endangered Species Act and other laws have imposed new requirements to protect the natural environment. Knowing how to get results and preserve our region’s resources at the same time is not easy.

Energy

Energy markets are changing. A market once dominated by monopoly providers of electricity owning large, central station generating plants now includes competitive independent power producers and customers’ self-generation. This transition is being driven in part by the development of new energy technologies as well as by state mandates for increased deployment of renewable resources and improvements in energy conservation.

Environmental Litigation

When other methods — including negotiation and mediation — either do not or will not work, we use the courts to resolve our clients’ disputes. We pursue claims on behalf of clients; we defend clients who are wrongly pursued.

Insurance

In many states, insurance can cover expenses brought on by environmental damages. Before a business can collect on its insurance, it first must locate its insurance policies, then gather the facts and apply the law to prove coverage. These policies may stretch many decades into the past to cover environmental pollution at the time it occurred.

Permitting & Environmental Review

It can be a challenge to navigate the government standards that regulate new construction and development. Clients must submit thorough, professional evaluations of each proposed project and the impact of its operations.

Property Development & Acquisition

Nearly all real estate deals today require some level of environmental review. Some deals actually make a virtue out of necessity by converting polluted “brownfields” properties into productive and profitable uses.

Regulatory Process

Whether it be an issue with an environmental permit, a utility rate contest, or a business license dispute, most businesses -- and many citizens -- must deal with state and local administrative processes at some time or another. With our substantial experience in the Administrative Procedure Act and with an office in the state capitol, our firm can guide clients, whether they be businesses, individuals, or government entities, through often specialized administrative processes and, if necessary, seek court review of administrative decisions.

Waste Management & Cleanup

The existing regulatory system for managing the hazardous waste generated by businesses and government agencies is one of the most complicated ever created. The parallel “Superfund” regulations for cleaning up old hazardous waste sites are nearly as complex and can lead to unnecessary expense and unsatisfactory cleanups if not managed properly.

Water Quality & Water Rights

“Whiskey is for drinking, and water is for fighting over.” This epigram credited to Mark Twain remains true, at least in the West. Recent droughts and restrictions to protect endangered salmon have created real problems in the use and protection of water supplies.