Agenda Day 1

9:00 am

Introduction & Overview

Joseph A. Brogan, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Foster Garvey / Seattle, WA

Joshua Osborne-Klein, Esq. , Program Co-Chair, Assistant Attorney General
Washington State Attorney General's Office / Olympia, WA

9:15 am

Washington Water Law 101: Western Water Law as it is Implemented in Washington

Origin, development, and current status of Washington's prior appropriation system; interplay between water rights and needs for reallocation, pollution control, wildlife protection, recreation, instream low maintenance, and environmental quality

Courtney J. Throgmorton, Esq. , Assistant Attorney General - Ecology Division
Washington State Attorney General's Office / Olympia, WA

10:00 am

Break

10:15 am

Adjudications: What Next After Acquavella?

Ecology's current list of watersheds that might benefit from adjudication, focusing on basins with senior Tribal water rights, streamflow needs, and challenges caused by water user uncertainty and conflict: What to expect for each basin moving forward

Robin McPherson, Esq. , Adjudication Manager
Washington State Department of Ecology / Olympia, WA

Case study of the process for the Nooksack Basin

The Hon. Ross Cline, Sr. , Chairman
Nooksack Indian Tribe / Deming, WA

Gary S. Stoyka , Natural Resources Program Manager
Whatcom County Public Works Department / Bellingham, WA

12:00 pm

Lunch Break

1:15 pm

Watershed Planning: Implementing the New Statutory Criteria

Update on the requirements and newly adopted watershed plans

Dan Haller , Principal Engineer
Aspect Consulting / Yakima, WA

Case study of the watershed plan for the Nisqually Basin

George Walter , Environmental Program Supervisor
Nisqually Indian Tribe / Olympia, WA

Lisa Dally Wilson, P.E. , Principal and Owner
Dally Environmental / Seattle, WA

3:00 pm

Break

3:15 pm

Community Water Rights and Transfers of Inchoate Water: Water Transfers to or from Municipalities

Municipal establishment of unused "inchoate" water right with priority over subsequent water rights: Municipal purveyor perspective on the current status of the law

Joseph A. Brogan, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Foster Garvey / Seattle, WA

State regulatory perspective

Joshua Osborne-Klein, Esq. , Program Co-Chair
Washington State Attorney General's Office / Olympia, WA

5:00 pm

Adjourn Day 1

Friday, June 11, 2021

9:00 am

Case Law Update

Recent noteworthy judicial and administrative cases including the Washington State Supreme Court's August 2020 decision upholding Ecology's minimum instream flow levels for the Spokane River

Alan Reichman, Esq. , Senior Counsel
Washington State Office of the Attorney General / Olympia, WA

9:45 am

From Loon Lake to Chuckanut Creek: The Rise and Fall of Environmental Values in Washington's Water Resources Act

The year 2021 marks the 50th anniversary of the Water Resources Act of 1971: What has been effectively implemented and what remains to be done?

Rachael Paschal Osborn, Esq. , Affiliate Instructor
University of Washington School of Law / Vashon, WA

10:30 am

Break

10:45 am

Tribal Senior Water Rights

Origin, development, and current status of Tribal water rights; recent legal developments affecting Tribal water rights

Patrick Williams, Esq. , Moderator
Law Office of M. Patrick Williams / Seattle, WA

Tribal options for exercising and protecting their senior water rights in the various basins

Wyatt F. Golding, Esq.
Ziontz Chestnut / Seattle, WA

Fawn R. Sharp , President
Quinault Indian Nation / Taholah, WA

12:15 pm

Lunch Break

1:30 pm

Practice Tips for Administrative and Appellate Litigation

Tips for building a record now that PCHB appeals go directly to the Court of Appeals

The Hon. Neil L. Wise, Esq. , Board Member
Pollution Control and Shorelines Hearings Board / Olympia, WA

Tips from the bench for participation in appellate cases

The Hon. Debra L. Stephens, Esq. , Justice
Washington Supreme Court / Olympia, WA

2:45 pm

Break

3:00 pm

Legislative Policy: Post-Op on the 2021 Session and What to Expect for 2022

Bills and how the political dynamics played out

Kathleen Collins , Owner
Capitol Strategies Consulting / Olympia, WA

3:30 pm

Environmental Justice (EJ) and Legal Ethics

Update on the movement, new considerations that need to be addressed, and the ethical implications for water practitioners

Clifford Villa, Esq. , Associate Professor of Law
University of New Mexico School of Law / Albuquerque, NM

4:30 pm

Evaluations and Adjourn

Faculty Bios

Joseph A. Brogan, Program Co-Chair, is a partner at Foster Garvey and one of the leading water rights lawyers in Washington state. He provides strategic advice, permitting and litigation support to water purveyors, public utility districts, ports, industry clients and private property owners.

Joshua Osborne-Klein, Program Co-Chair, is an Assistant Attorney General for the Washington State Attorney General's Office. He previously served as a Staff Attorney for the Puget Soundkeeper Alliance and was in private practice where he represented a variety of clients including Indian Tribes.

Patrick Williams, Moderator, Law Office of M. Patrick Williams, works with state and local agencies and Tribes on complex environmental regulatory and policy decisions. This includes litigation before tribunals ranging from local hearing boards to the Washington State Supreme Court.

The Hon. Ross Cline, Sr. is Chairman of the Nooksack Indian Tribe. He was raised on a small dairy farm on his great grandfather Kalime's homestead. He earned a BA degree in Urban and Regional Planning from Western Washington University and an MBA from the University of Phoenix.

Kathleen Collins, Owner of Capitol Strategies Consulting, represents local governments on environmental issues.

Lisa Dally Wilson, P.E., Dally Environmental, is a water resource engineer and trained facilitator with experience in environmental assessment and facilitation of collaborative, multi-stakeholder processes addressing complex natural resource issues.

Wyatt F. Golding is a partner at Ziontz Chestnut, a Seattle law firm specializing in the representation of Indian Tribes and conservation groups. He works on a variety of water law matters, including protection of instream flows and Tribal water rights, Clean Water Act enforcement and defense, implementation of water quality standards, FERC relicensing, Endangered Species Act litigation, and the intersection of water law and SEPA.

Dan Haller is a Principal Engineer at Aspect Consulting focusing on water rights and systems.

Robin McPherson is the Adjudication Manager for the Department of Ecology. She previously represented the Ecology Water Resources Program as an Assistant Attorney General.

Rachael Paschal Osborn, Affiliate Instructor at the University of Washington School of Law, is a retired public interest water lawyer. Between 1992 and 2019, she practiced water, environmental and climate change law, representing citizens, NGOs and Native American tribes. She co-founded the Center for Environmental Law & Policy in 1993.

Alan Reichman is Senior Counsel at the Washington State Office of the Attorney General. He serves as Section Manager of the Water Resources Section of the Ecology Division and represents the Department in water resources and water quality cases before the Pollution Control Hearings Board and in state and federal courts. He also counsels the Department of Ecology's Water Resources Program and represented Ecology in the Yakima River Basin water rights adjudication.

Fawn R. Sharp is President of the Quinault Indian Nation. She also serves as the 23rd President of the National Congress of American Indians (NCAI), the oldest, largest and most representative American Indian and Alaska Native Tribal government organization in the country.

The Hon. Debra L. Stephens has been a member of the Washington Supreme Court since January 2008 and served as the Court's 57th Chief Justice. She previously served as a judge for Division Three of the Court of Appeals and is the first judge from that court to join the Washington State Supreme Court, as well as the first woman from Eastern Washington to do so.

Gary S. Stoyka is the Natural Resources Program Manager for the Whatcom County Public Works Department. Prior to coming to Whatcom County, he was manager of Skagit County's Clean Water Program, where he oversaw salmon recovery, watershed planning, lake management, marine resources committee, the water quality program, and management of closed landfills.

Courtney J. Throgmorton is an Assistant Attorney General in the Ecology Division of the Washington State Attorney General's Office.

Clifford Villa is an Associate Professor of Law at the University of New Mexico School of Law. He previously served as legal counsel for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, first with EPA Headquarters in Washington, DC, and later with EPA Regional offices in Denver, Colorado, and Seattle, Washington.

George Walter is the Environmental Program Supervisor for the Nisqually Indian Tribe.

The Hon. Neil L. Wise is the Chair of the Pollution Control Hearings Board and Shorelines Hearings Board. Prior to his appointment to the Boards, he was a Senior Counsel at the Washington Attorney General's Office, where he represented the Washington Departments of Fish and Wildlife and Natural Resources, and the Forest Practices Board.

Continuing Education Credits

Live credits: This program qualifies for 11.75 (inc 1 Ethics) WA MCLE, 11.75 AICP planner, and 11.75 ABCEP environmental professional credits. credits. Upon request, we will help you apply for CLE credits in other states and other types of credits.

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