Law and the Environment

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Law and the Environment

• Environmental and Land Use Section
• Washington State Bar Association

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Law and the Environment

• Environmental and land use law has no single
  definition. It is a catchall to describe a wide
  range of laws and regulations passed by Congress,
  the State Legislature, or federal/state agencies.
  

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Law and the Environment

• Issues in environmental and land use law range
  from zoning and building permits to cleaning up
  pollution and protecting species in their
  habitats.

4
Law and the Environment

• Environmental and land use laws involve
  regulations from many government agencies that
  work together to protect both the human and
  environmental communities.

5
Law and the Environment

• Environmental and land use laws come from
  statutes, rules, regulations, codes, and judicial
  decisions at four levels
  
• Federal
• State
• Local
• Tribal

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Law and the Environment

• Federal
• Clean Air Act
• Clean Water Act
• Endangered Species Act
• National Environmental Policy Act
• CERCLA/Superfund
• Condemnation/Takings

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Law and the Environment

• Washington State
• Growth Management Act
• Model Toxics Control Act
• State Environmental Policy Act        
• Shoreline Management Act
• Water Codes
• Forest Practices Act

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Law and the Environment

• Tribal
• Treaties between the U.S. government and Native
  American Indian tribes that guarantee the right
  to hunt and fish in usual and accustomed sites at
  the time the treaties were signed.

9
Law and the Environment

• Some Issues
• Spotted owl
• Duwamish River
• Discovery Park in Seattle
• Columbia River
• Growth management rules
• Trail on former railroad right-of-ways

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Law and the Environment

• More issues
• Development of skateboard parks
• Brownfields
• Orchards
• Hazardous waste remediation
• Condemnation/Takings

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Law and the Environment

• Environmental and Land Use Section
• Washington State Bar Association
• www.lawweek.org