Author: ELUL

ELUL Executive Committee Elections – Application Portal Open!

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Would you like to be more engaged with the Environmental and Land Use Law Section? The Section is holding elections for three at-large positions and the chair-elect position.

The at-large positions begin October 1, 2025 and have a three year term, ending on September 30, 2028.

General expectations for an at-large ELUL member include attending monthly Executive Committee meetings; volunteering for an elected or voluntary role, including treasurer, secretary, social media, or mini-CLE coordination; presenting or assisting with Mid-Year and One-Day CLE planning; working with law students to provide weekly updates during legislative session; soliciting or writing content for the blog; and attending the Section’s law student and young lawyer networking events.

Informational Sessions: For more information about serving on a section executive committee in general, join one of WSBA’s informational Zoom drop-in sessions, on Friday, March 14 (10 – 11 am) orThursday, April 3 (12:00 – 1:00 pm),to hear from current section executive committee members and WSBA staff about the benefits of volunteering.

For more information about the ELUL, please feel free to contact any current ELUL Executive Committee member.

How to Apply: To apply for a position, log in to your MyWSBA account and select “My Profile.” Click on Section Executive Committee Application and select the position for which you would like to apply. Be sure to click “ADD” after selecting your position. If you intend to apply for more than one section, be sure to complete and submit all applications at the same time, as you will not be able to go back into the application portal later.

ELUL applications are due by Monday, May 12.

King County v. Friends of Sammamish Valley et al. – GMA and SEPA

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In September, the Washington Supreme Court issued a 5-4 decision addressing whether an ordinance adopted by King County was consistent with the Growth Management Act (GMA) and the State Environmental Policy Act (SEPA). The Court held that King County failed to comply with the GMA and SEPA and invalidated portions of the County’s Ordinance, which had been intended to create a framework for the fast-growing adult beverage industry outside Seattle. The decision will be of interest to those practitioners who represent clients interested in comprehensive plans required by the GMA, as well as nonproject SEPA actions, particularly when the relevant question is what conditions should serve as the baseline against which an action is considered. The Supreme Court recently addressed SEPA’s baseline requirements in 2022 in its decision in Wild Fish Conservancy v. Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife , 198 Wn. 2d 846, 502 P.3d 359 (2022).

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ELUL Blog – August 2024 Round-Up

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Below are links and brief descriptions of significant legal issues that may affect members of the Environmental and Land Use Law section. Please don’t hesitate to contact an ELUL Executive Committee member or the blog editors, Derek Gauthier or Chris Pierce-Wright, if you’d like to present at an upcoming CLE or provide a more detailed post about any of the cases or legal issues.

Continue reading “ELUL Blog – August 2024 Round-Up” →

Sackett v. EPA one year later: assessing the decision’s implementation in the lower courts

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Pacific Legal Foundation, Environmental Section Attorneys

In Sackett v. EPA, 598 U.S. 651 (2023), the United States Supreme Court articulated the test for determining which hydrogeographic features qualify as “waters” potentially subject to federal regulation under the Clean Water Act. The decision ends an extended period of legal controversy over how to interpret the geographic reach of the nation’s preeminent federal water quality law. In this blog post, we—attorneys with Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit legal organization that fights for private property rights and other constitutionally protected liberties—review how Sackett is being employed in the lower courts and by EPA and the Corps, in this first year following the Supreme Court’s ruling.

Continue reading “Sackett v. EPA one year later: assessing the decision’s implementation in the lower courts” →

ELUL Blog – July 2024 Round-Up

~ ELUL ~ Leave a comment

Below are links and brief descriptions of significant legal issues that may affect members of the Environmental and Land Use Law section. Please don’t hesitate to contact an ELUL Executive Committee member or the blog editors, Derek Gauthier or Chris Pierce-Wright, if you’d like to present at an upcoming CLE or provide a more detailed post about any of the cases or legal issues.

Continue reading “ELUL Blog – July 2024 Round-Up” →