Regulatory Environmental Law & Policy Clinic

Clinic Faculty

Sanne KnudsenÌý
Co-Director, Regulatory Environmental Law & Policy Clinic

Keith Cohon
Supervising Attorney

Todd Wildermuth
Policy Director, Regulatory Environmental Law & Policy Clinic

For Students

The Regulatory Environmental Law and Policy Clinic helped me develop the practical skills needed for filing rulemaking petitions, commenting on proposed environmental regulations and researching the underlying issues. It was a powerful experience.
— Andrew Fuller, J.D. and Environmental Law Clinic Student

About the Regulatory Environmental Law & Policy Clinic

Legislatures and Congress draft environmental laws, and courts regularly interpret those laws in heightened instances of conflict. But on a daily basis, and as a practical truth, our environmental laws are overwhelmingly carried out by administrative agencies. The UW Regulatory Environmental Law & Policy Clinic helps public interest organizations advocate effectively before the agencies that administer our environmental laws at both the state and federal level. We draft petitions for new or amended regulation and, to a lesser extent, draft comments on proposed rules, permits, policies or environmental impact statements. We make environmental law work better by working where environmental law works every day.

Projects

The clinic typically takes on three matters each year and dedicates about six months to each project. Recently, we have worked with clients to:

  • Maintain the quality of Washington's ground and surface water affected by the U.S. EPA's "Waters of the United States" rule.
  • Sustain high-quality instream flows on a large international river.
  • Ensure of the long-term viability of a federally endangered bird species.
  • Improve the chemical testing of impaired waters to facilitate better and more accurate enforcement of effluent discharge permits.
  • Require better notice and disclosure of chemicals applied via helicopter to large forest plantations.
  • Require monitoring and regulation of air emissions from large-scale, concentrated dairy feeding operations.

Regulatory Environmental Law & Policy News