Publications

Deskbook

The ENR Section updates the OSB’s Environmental and Natural Resources Deskbook. With over 40 chapters of detailed information, the Deskbook summarizes state and federal regulations, statutes, and caselaw applicable to environmental and natural resource issues in Oregon. It also contains many practice tips and links to relevant websites.

The ENR Deskbook is available online through the OSB’s member pages, and hard copies may be purchased through the OSB website.

Section Newsletters

  • E-Outlook – a short bulletin distributed approximately four times per year that typically contains an article on breaking judicial, statutory, and regulatory developments; and
  • Case Notes – a periodical summary of recent case law addressing natural resource and environmental issues.

E-Outlooks and Case Notes are sent directly to ENR members by electronic mail, and are additionally archived below.

 

2024 Newsletters

E-Outlook – November 2024

  • Lisa Brown of WaterWatch of Oregon summarizes the recent adoption of the Oregon Water Resources Commission’s updates to Oregon’s groundwater allocation rules.
  • Theresa C. Barfield & Maximilian C. Bricker of Somach Simmons & Dunn provide their prediction on the next steps in Oregon’s Klamath Basin Adjudication.
  • Elizabeth Howard & Rosalyn DiLillo Knock of Schwabe evaluate the recent changes to federal and state rules that govern the operation of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations following the Ninth Circuit court’s ruling in Food & Water Watch et al. v. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and Oregon’s updated regulation OAR 603-074 et seq. in response to Senate Bill 85.

E-Outlook – August 2024

  • Samuel B. Boxerman, Jack Raffetto, Timothy K. Webster & Lauren E. DeCarlo of Sidley Austin LLP analyze the implications of the Jarkesy decision on the EPA’s administrative proceedings.
  • Conor Butkus & Lawson Fite of Schwabe evaluate the potential impacts on the natural resources industry after Chevron overturn.
  • Dallas DeLuca of Markowitz Herbold PC summarizes the recent decision in the Juliana litigation.

Case Notes Vol. 50 – August 2024

A summary of and comment on recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

E-Outlook – May 2024

  • Mark S. Heinzelmann of Lowenstein Sandler details CERCLA liability in the context of groundwater quality standards.
  • Matthew W. Morrison, Ashleigh Myers & Cara M. MacDonald of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP summarize recent Endangered Species Act regulations.
  • Travis L. Thompson and Aidan R. Freeman of Marten Law detail discuss tribal involvement in setting water quality standards.

Case Notes Vol. 49 – May 2024

A summary of and comment on recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Case Notes Vol. 48 – February 2024

A summary of and comment on recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

2023 Newsletters

E-Outlook – November 2023

Krista McIntyre, Geoffrey Tichenor, Wade Foster and Joe Matteo of Stoel Rives discuss EPA’s final rule on PFAS reporting under TSCA; Shanna L. McCormack and Jessica K. Rosell of Lathrop GPM summarize EPA’s recent fact sheet encouraging PFAS monitoring in CWA discharge permits.

Case Notes Vol. 47 – November 2023

A summary of and comment on recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Lindsay Thane of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt analyzes the Supreme Court’s Sackett v. EPA decision and the resulting revisions to the Waters of the U.S. rule.

E-Outlook – August 2023

Nolan Smith of the Carollo Law Group provides an analysis of the O&C Act cases.

Case Notes Vol. 46 – August 2023

A summary of and comment on recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Case Notes Vol. 45 – June 2023

A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

2022 Newsletters–

Ralph Bloemers discusses the County of Linn v. State of Oregon litigation following the Oregon Supreme Court declining to hear the Counties’ appeal.

           A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Anne Idsal Austin, Shelby L. Dyl, and Sheila McCafferty Harvey of Pillsbury Winthrop Shaw Pittman LLP analyze the Supreme Court’s recent opinion in West Virginia v. EPA; Andrea Wortzel, Elizabeth McCormick, Morgan Gerard, and Viktoriia De Las Casas of Troutman Pepper discuss recent changes to Endangered Species Act regulations.

Case Notes – April 2022

A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Mike Eliason of the Oregon Forest & Industries Council discusses Oregon’s 2022 Legislative Session.

2021 Newsletters–

A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Mike Freese of Romain Freese, LLC discusses Oregon’s 2021 Legislative Long Session.

2020 Newsletters–

Eric Christensen, William Enoch, David Weber & Gus Winkes of Beveridge & Diamond analyze the Oregon Supreme Court’s recent climate change decision; Priscilla Hampton, Christina Bonanni & Marc Bruner of Perkins Coie detail EPA’s new guidance document database; and Gus Winkes & Olivia Parish of Beveridge & Diamond provide an update on Oregon’s updated ecological risk assessment guidance.

A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Thomas Griffin & Elizabeth Howard of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt discuss the WOTUS Rule; Kathy Robb of Blue Access LLC analyzes the Supreme Court’s County of Maui v. Hawai’i Wildlife Fund decision; and a team from Troutman Pepper examines EPA’s overhaul of Section 401 of the Clean Water Act.

A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

David F. Stearns of Schwabe, Williamson & Wyatt summarizes the 2019 Klamath water rights opinion, Baley v. U.S. and Rachel Roberts of Beveridge & Diamond looks at a pending dispute concerning the Upper Klamath Subbasin Temperature Total Maximum Daily Load.
–

A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

2019 Newsletters

       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

E-Outlook – August 2019

Michael Freese of The Romain Group provides a summary of the 2019 Oregon Legislative Session and a list of enacted environmental, natural resources, and energy-related bills from the session.

       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Mac Lacy of Oregon Natural Desert Association examines the conservation, ecological, and legal hurdles that stand in the way of saving Greater sage-grouse in the West, including how federal and state agencies, and the courts, address the threats to this bird’s unique adaptation to the sagebrush landscape in which it lives.

2018 Newsletters

 

       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

Lawson Fite of American Forest Resource Council examines debate over the extent of executive power to reduce national monuments. Mac Lacy of Oregon Natural Desert Association examines the conservation, ecological, and legal hurdles that stand in the way of saving Greater sage-grouse in the West, including how federal and state agencies, and the courts, address the threats to this bird’s unique adaptation to the sagebrush landscape in which it lives.

Case Notes – May 2018
       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

This issue provides a list of environmental, natural resources, and energy related bills from the 2018 Oregon Legislative Short Session.

Douglas MacDougal of Marten Law PLLC analyzes the U.S. Court of Federal Claims’ September 2017 decision regarding water rights in the Klamath River Basin. The case involved plaintiffs who owned water rights and brought takings claims in the wake of the Bureau of Reclamation’s shut‐off of water in the Klamath basin in 2001.

Case Notes – February 2018
       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

2017 Newsletters

E-Outlook – November 2017

Marina Cassio of Marten Law PLLC analyzes the current landscape of climate        change litigation by examining various legal theories and Juliana v. United States (a small group of young people and a climate scientist representing future generations sue the federal government for violating their asserted constitutional rights to a stable climate system).

       Case Notes – October 2017
       A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

E-Outlook – October 2017

Meline MacCurdy of Marten Law summarizes the Eastern District of Washington ruling in City of Spokane v. Monsanto Co. in which Monsanto alleged the City’s wastewater discharges give rise to liability under CERCLA, the Clean Water Act, and state tort-law theories (negligence, unjust enrichment, contribution, and equitable indemnity).

       E-Outlook – August 2017

A list of environmental, natural resources, and energy-related bills passed in the 2017 Oregon Legislative Session.

Case Notes – July 2017
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.

E-Outlook – May 2017

Rick Glick and Merissa Moeller of Davis Wright Tremaine provide an update on the Waters of the United States (WOTUS) rule.
 
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
 
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
2016 Newsletters                                                                                                                            
Jakob S. Wiley, concurrent student at University of Oregon School of Law & Oregon State University’s Water Resources Management Graduate Program summarizes the Hawkes case, which decided that federal courts have jurisdiction to review jurisdictional decisions of the Army Corps of Engineers because such decisions constitute final agency action.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
A list of environmental, natural resources, and energy-related bills passed in the 2016 Oregon Legislative Short Session.
Lucy Page Chesnutt of Schroeder Law Offices provides an overview of the BLM and USFS Records of Decision and land use plans related to sage grouse conservation and management.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
 
2015 Newsletters                                                                                                              
 
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
A list of environmental, natural resources, and energy-related bills passed in the 2015 Oregon Legislative Session.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
Michael Campbell of Stoel Rives LLP outlines and analyzes the new Waters of the United States Rule adopted by the EPA and Corps under the Clean Water Act.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
A list of environmental, natural resources, and energy-related bills in the 2015 Oregon Legislative Session.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
Brian Sheets of Schroeder Law Offices, PC summarizes the Oregon Court of Appeal’s decision in WaterWatch of Oregon, Inc. v. Water Resources Department and the decision’s implications on municipal water use permit extensions related to regulatory fish persistence requirements.
 
2014 Newsletters                                                                                                              
 
David Rabbino of Tonkon Torp LLP explains the Seventh Circuit’s holdings in NCR Corp. v. George A. Whiting Paper Co. et al. and U.S. v. P.H. Glatfelter and NCR Corp., and the nation-wide applicability of those decisions.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
Emily Rake of Kell, Alterman & Runstein LLP outlines the Ninth Circuit Decision in Arizona v. Raytheon, and discusses the decision’s implications on CERCLA consent decrees
Kate Moore of Dunn Carney Allen Higgins & Tongue LLP provides an update about the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s and Army Corps of Engineers’ proposed rule to clarify the definition of “waters of the United States.”
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
 
2013  Newsletters                                                                                                             
 
Sarah Liljefelt of Schroeder Law Offices, P.C. analyzes WaterWatch of Oregon v. Water Resources Department.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners.
Seth Row of Parsons Farnell & Grein LLP analyzes Anderson Brothers, Inc. v. St. Paul Fire and Marine Insurance Company, a Ninth Circuit decision adddressing what is a “suit” for purposes of triggering an insurer’s duty to defend.
Hong Huynh of Miller Nash analyzes a recent decision, PCS Nitrogen v. Ashley II,  interpreting the “bona fide prospective purchaser” defense under CERCLA.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
Max Miller of Tonkon Torp discusses the recent U.S. Supreme Court decision in the “forest roads” Clean Water Act case that originated in Oregon.
Sarah Winter Whelan of the Americal Littoral Society and Lawson Fite of Markowitz, Herbold, Glade and Mehlhaf, discuss Oregon’s progress in designating marine reserves and marine protected areas and implementing pland and regulations protecting those areas.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
 
2012 Newsletters                                                                                                              
 
Dustin Till of Marten Law Group describes a recent case in which the D.C. Circuit has again struck down EPA’s cross-state air pollution rules.
Larry Burke of Davis Wright Tremaine and John Foxwell of Ash Creek Associates report on environmental due diligence in property transactions, including aspects that may not be addressed by an “All Appropriate Inquiry” analysis.
Cheyenne Chapman of Oregon Department of Environmental Quality’s Land Quality Division provides background and updates on DEQ’s “Prospective Purchaser Agreement” program.
Laura Maffei of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt, PC, reports on environmentally focused bills passed in Oregon’s 2012 legislative session
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
 
2011 Newsletters                                                                                                               
Jas Adams, current chair of the Environmental and Natural Resource Section, reports on the Oregon State Legislature’s recent effort to control aquatic invasive species through an administrative search model for mandatory boat inspection stations, so as to comport with the Oregon Constitution.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
Sarah Liljefelt of Schroeder Law Offices analyzes the Oregon Water Resources Department’s new permitting process for alternative reservoir water right permits, which was prompted by the January 2011 state court decision Deborah Noble and David Hillison v. Oregon Water Resources Department, Clackamas County Circuit Court, Case No. CV-10-01-0159 (General Judgment entered January 25, 2011)
Montana v. Wyoming, a water rights case addressing whether junior users can prevent senior users from increasing the efficiency of their irrigation techniques, thus decreasing return flows.
Douglas Timber Operators v. Salazar and Pacific River Council U.S. District Court of the District of Columbia (Civ. No. 09-174 (D.D.C.)) March 31, 2011addressing the Secretary of the Interior’s 2009 withdrawal of the resource management plans for several Bureau of Land Management forests in Western Oregon, known as the Western Oregon Plan Revision.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
City of Los Angeles v. San Pedro Boat Works, No. 08-56163 (March 14, 2011).
This issue analyzes the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeal’s decision in City of Los Angeles v. San Pedro Boat Works, addressing whether a holder of a possessory interest in real property can be held liable as an “owner” under CERCLA.
The Wilderness Society v. U.S. Forest Service, No. 09-35200, 2011 WL 117627, at *1 (9th Cir. Jan. 11, 2011) changes long-standing precedent that prohibited non federal defendents to intervene in NEPA cases.
 
2010 Newsletters                                                                                                              
 
ZRA Realty v. Beneficial Fire and Cas. Ins., 349 Or 117, 241 P3d 710 (2010) allowing for insurance coverage of contaminated-sediment cleanup under certain marine policies.
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
E-Outlook – August 2010 Issues 6 & 7
Both issues address the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals decision in NEDC v. Brown.  In that case the Ninth Circuit determined that runoff from logging roads requires a Clean Water Act permit.
Issue 7 is a response to Issue 6.
Pete’s Mtn. Homeowners Assn. v. OR Water Resources Dept. The Court of Appeals defines a “party” as anyone affected by a decision
CERCLA liability for stormwater discharges from highways
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
Rio Grande Silvery Minnow v. Bureau of Reclamation (Minnow IV),
Tualatin Riverkeepers v. ODEQ
Klamath Irrigation District Decision summarized & analyzed by Laura Maffei of Schwabe Williamson & Wyatt
A summary of recent cases of interest to ENR practitioners
(of interest to the Env. & Natural Resources Section)
Bills of interest to the Env. & Natural Resources Section

Older Newsletters are archived at the State Bar’s website:

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