Lane Powell PC - Environmental Law

Federal district court Judge Ricardo Martinez has issued a permanent injunction requiring the Washington State Department of Transportation (“WSDOT”), the Washington State Department of Natural Resources, and the Washington…more

Originally published in the Daily Journal of Commerce on December 10, 2012. Oregon has benefited greatly over the past decade from progressive policies that have driven investment in renewable energy and energy efficiency…more

As real estate development and leasing begin to emerge slowly from the dark days of the Great Recession, it’s important to remember that environmental considerations should not take a back seat to getting a deal done. In…more

Six years after then-Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger signed the California Global Warming Solutions Act, also known as AB 32, the California Air Resources Board (CARB) holds its first auction of emissions allowances on November 14…more

Adopting green business practices in a challenging economy may seem like a luxury, but some tactics, such as reducing a commercial building’s energy usage, actually can save money and make a business more competitive. Problems,…more

At first glance, the phrase “green road” might seem like a contradiction in terms. After all, what else is a road but a conveyance for greenhouse gas emitting vehicles? But with nearly four million miles of public roads in the…more

The fourth anniversary of British Columbia’s carbon tax — the only one of its kind in North America – was marked with an increase on July 1 that raises the tax on gasoline a penny per litre to 6.67 cents ($0.25 per gallon). The…more

The District of Columbia Court of Appeals decision in Coalition for Responsible Regulation v. EPA (PDF) rejecting all of the industry and state challenges to EPA’s greenhouse gas emissions rules is an important milestone in U.S…more

To date most of the focus on the West Coast Electric Highway has been on the series of DC fast charge stations situated along I-5 between the British Columbia and California borders, but now there’s an eastern component along…more

A recent item in the China Daily headlined “Concerns on electric cars after fiery crash” is making the rounds on Twitter, but should be read with a large grain of salt given the details of the accident that triggered the…more

In a unanimous decision, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that two Idaho property owners may bring a legal challenge to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (“EPA”) issuance of an administrative order that required the…more

The Court of Justice for the European Union has ruled that airlines operating in and out of EU countries must comply with the union’s rules for greenhouse gas emissions starting January 1, 2012. In a decision that was presaged…more

The Western Climate Initiative (WCI) has quietly ended its nearly four-year experiment with a regional economy-wide cap and trade scheme. Arizona announced its formal withdrawal from the WCI, and five other states have done so…more

The Australia Senate's passage November 8 of the Clean Energy Bill legislative package containing a carbon tax marked a significant step by a major industrial nation to regulate greenhouse gas emissions. Yet, it received scant…more

When the eighth largest economy in the world, and one that happens to occupy a large portion of the western U.S. coastline, adopts a groundbreaking set of rules, you would think that would get a lot of attention. Yet, after the…more