Richard W. (Rich) Elliott

Rich Elliott counsels clients in the environmental and natural resources, manufacturing, and food and agriculture industries. His experience includes pipeline litigation, salmon aquaculture appeals, environmental enforcement actions, Superfund sites, and federal facility cleanup projects. Rich has represented clients at the federal and state levels and has played a major role in creative resolution through litigation or settlements.

Practice Highlights

• Currently represents association of nine major cruise ship lines on environmental matters involving State of Alaska, including the Alaska large passenger vessel wastewater discharge general permit. Assisted clients in development of legislation that provided relief to cruise lines.
• Counsels multiple clients in the petroleum, land development, food and agriculture, and aquaculture industries on National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) permits and state wastewater discharge permits, including administrative appeals and litigation in state and federal court.
• Provides broad variety of legal services to major corporations in the petroleum industry, including environmental cleanup of legacy sites; resolution of complex water quality, air quality and hazardous waste regulatory issues; and related litigation in state and federal courts.
• Serves as lead counsel to salmon aquaculture industry in Washington State. Counsels aquaculture clients on siting and permitting issues and represents them in appeals before quasi-judicial bodies and state courts. Successfully defended clients in five-week adversary hearing involving challenge to clients’ NPDES waste discharge permits. Has also represented other agribusiness clients, including defense of Clean Water Act citizen's suits.
• Represents clients in agency enforcement actions, including major aerospace manufacturing company in Washington State enforcement action that raised complex regulatory issues involving alleged violation of hazardous waste, wastewater discharge and air quality laws. Civil penalties and regulatory compliance issues were resolved in manner beneficial to client’s continuing operations.
• Serves as environmental counsel to major natural resources company in the environmental cleanup and redevelopment of a former sawmill site and historic company town in Washington State. The state awarded an Environmental Excellence Award to the client for the successful cleanup of this complicated site. Currently assisting same client with issues involving Puget Sound sediments.
• Has represented clients at numerous federal Superfund sites and state cleanup sites. Currently represents two companies in relation to the Pasco Landfill, a major state and federal Superfund site in Eastern Washington. As member of PRP steering committee and chair of technical committee, played key role in negotiating innovative technical and financial solutions.
• Has represented government contractors with respect to numerous cleanup projects and enforcement actions at contaminated federal facilities, including the Hanford Nuclear Reservation. Instrumental in formulation of creative cleanup arrangements, including recovery of cleanup costs from federal government.