May 2025 Knowing the Waters
In April, the Washington Court of Appeals issued a decision in West v. Walla Walla City Council , a case involving an alleged violation of the Open Public Meetings Act (“OPMA”).
About CSD Attorneys at Law
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WRIA 1 Adjudication: Did you Receive an Ecology Summons and Claim Forms?
If you have been following this blog or the Water Resource Inventory Area (“WRIA”) 1 Adjudication, you have learned that the Washington Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) has issued its Summons to all potential water right claimants in the Nooksack Basin and WRIA 1.
April 2025 Knowing the Waters
In this month’s column, I cautiously dip my legal toe into the implications around recent federal funding actions. I say “cautiously” because I realize there are strong opinions on all sides of federal politics right now.
March 2025 Knowing the Waters
This past January I had the pleasure of attending WPPA 2025 Port Day in Olympia and observing WPPA Staff and members engage their state legislative delegations and other elected officials to advance the interests of ports all over Washington.
Notice of Mandatory Adoption – Jan 2028
The 68th Washington State Legislature (the “Legislature”) passed legislation in the summer of 2024 that will require Homeowners’ Associations and Condominium Associations to operate in compliance with the Washington Uniform Common Interest Ownership Act (“WUCOIA”) – RCW Chapter 64.90 – beginning January 1, 2028.
February 2025 Knowing the Waters
Does your port own buildings that are 20,000 square feet or larger? If so, between June 2026 and June 2028, your port will likely have to comply with Building Performance Standards (“BPS”) in the Clean Building Act, Chapter 19.27A RCW
January 2025 Knowing the Waters
Last month, at the Annual Meeting, WPPA honored an impressive list of new WPPA Life Members at Friday morning’s Awards Breakfast. Among the awardees was long-time WPPA General Counsel and author of Knowing the Waters – Frank Chmelik.
Generative Artificial Intelligence and the Practice of Law
As the use of generative artificial intelligence (“AI”) grows across various industries, CSD Attorneys at Law P.S. is monitoring and evaluating how the use of AI may benefit the legal services that CSD provides to our clients.
December 2024 – Annual Checklist
December is a month of making lists - holiday present lists, new year’s resolution lists, and the like. In keeping with the theme of making lists, this month’s column is an annual legal checklist of items that your ports should review annually.
What is a Water Right
Simply put, a water right is a legal right to use a certain amount of water for a beneficial purpose. The Washington Department of Ecology (“Ecology”) is responsible for managing the state's water resources and administers the permit systems for water rights for surface and ground water.