Environmental Litigation

Members of Perkins Coie's Environmental Litigation group represent clients in some of the nation's most significant environmental litigation matters.  These matters include multi-party cleanup matters and permit challenges before trial courts, appellate courts and administrative tribunals.

Our environmental litigation experience includes:

• Cost recovery, contribution, and natural resource damage actions under CERCLA and similar state statutes.
  
  
• Permit challenges under the Clean Water Act, Clean Air Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act, and other federal, state, and local environmental and land use laws.
  
  
• Defense of criminal, civil and administrative enforcement matters brought under federal and state environmental statutes.
  
  
• Performance of confidential investigations in response to threatened criminal or civil prosecutions, whistle-blower claims and other concerns.
  
  
• Litigation challenging regulations promulgated by federal and state agencies to implement environmental statutes.
  
  
• Defense of citizen suits alleging violations of federal and state environmental statutes.
  
  
• Toxic tort, nuisance and property damage litigation.
  
  
• Representation of policy holders in suits to obtain insurance coverage for environmental claims.

Some of our representative environmental cases include:

• Coeur Alaska, Inc. v. Southeast Alaska Conservation Council
  U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the District of Alaska
  Represented intervenor in successful defense of Clean Water Act Section 404 permit for tailings disposal for modern gold mine project. 557 U.S. 261 (2009).
  
  
• Key Tronic Corp. v. United States
  U.S. Supreme Court, U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
  Represented Key Tronic at trial, on appeal, and in U.S. Supreme Court in action defining recovery of attorneys' fees under CERCLA. 766 F. Supp. 865 (E.D. Wash. 1991), rev'd, 984 F.2d 1025 (9th Cir. 1993), aff'd in part, rev'd in part, 511 U.S. 809 (1994)
  
  
• Snoqualmie Valley Preservation Alliance v. United States Army Corps of Engineers Puget Sound Energy Inc.
  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  Represented defendant-intervenor in challenge to Clean Water Act permit for hydroelectric project; won dismissal of lawsuit and judgment was affirmed on appeal. 2011 WL 1215605 (W.D. Wash.), aff’d, 683 F.3d 1155 (9th Cir. 2012)
  
  
• Snoqualmie Indian Tribe v. Federal Energy Regulatory Commission
  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
  Successful defense of challenge to FERC license for operation of hydroelectric project. 545 F.3d 1207 (9th Cir. 2008)
  
  
• Boeing Co. v. Cascade Corp.
  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
  Recovered past environmental response costs and future costs in CERCLA contribution action against neighboring landowner. 920 F. Supp. 1121 (D. Or. 1996), aff'd in part, 207 F.3d 1177 (9th Cir. 2000)
  
  
• In re Lyondell Chemical Co.
  U.S. Bankruptcy Court for the Southern District of New York
  Challenged bankruptcy settlement discharging CERCLA and state law liability concerning the Allied Paper, Inc./Portage Creek/Kalamazoo River Superfund Site. 442 B.R. 236 (Bankr. S.D.N.Y. 2011)
  
  
• United States v. Boeing Co.
  U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  Represented company in negotiation, approval by federal court, and implementation of natural resource damage consent decree with federal, state, and tribal trustees concerning the Lower Duwamish Superfund Site. No. 10-758RSM (W.D. Wash. Dec. 17, 2010)
  
  
• United States v. Dawn Mining Co.
  U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
  Defended former mine operator in CERCLA action concerning former mining site in which former operator established liability of United States. 504 F. Supp. 2d 1050 (E.D. Wash. 2007)
  
  
• City of Moses Lake v. Boeing Co.
  U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Washington
  Represented manufacturer in action involving CERCLA, Model Toxics Control Act (MTCA), and common law claims related to alleged contamination of municipal wells. Multiple claims dismissed through summary judgment. 430 F. Supp. 2d 1164 (E.D. Wash. 2006)
  
  
• Pinal Creek Group v. Newmont Mining Corp.
  U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit, U.S. District Court for the District of Arizona
  Successful interlocutory appeal in multi-party CERCLA case. 118 F.3d 1298 (9th Cir. 1997)
  
  
• United States v. MasTec
  U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
  Successful defense of Clean Water Act enforcement action based on alleged permit violations during construction of a 90-mile natural gas pipeline.
  
  
• Okanogan Highlands Alliance v. Crown Resources
  U.S. District Court for the Western District of Washington
  Represented project proponent in obtaining dismissal of challenges to construction of mine.
  
  
• Klamath Tribes of Oregon v. PacifiCorp
  U.S. District Court for the District of Oregon
  Obtained summary judgment of dismissal, affirmed on appeal, of claim by tribes alleging treaty violations and harm to salmon fishery caused by dams on Klamath River.