Michael R. Campbell
Experience
Michael Campbell is a partner with nearly 30 years of experience helping industrial
and municipal clients obtain water quality permits and find solutions to regulatory
problems related to water quality. His practice includes National Pollutant Discharge
Elimination System (NPDES), Underground Injection Control (UIC), and
state wastewater and stormwater discharge permits, Clean Water Act (CWA) section
404 and state fill permits, CWA section 401 certifications, and the defense of
enforcement actions and citizen suits. He also represents trade associations and client
coalitions in the development of water quality standards and regulations. To all of
these efforts, Michael brings a deep understanding of client needs and technical
issues, as well as a respectful, problem-solving approach to working with regulatory
agencies and other parties.
Partner
Representative Work
Wastewater and Stormwater Discharge Permits
Portland, OR
Michael represents industrial, municipal, and other clients on all aspects of NPDES
(503) 294-9676 direct
wastewater and stormwater discharge permits under the Clean Water Act (CWA),
indirect discharge permits to publicly owned treatment works (POTWs), and
underground injection control (UIC) permits. These matters include negotiating permit
(503) 220-2480 fax
michael.campbell@stoel.com
terms, defending and challenging agency permit decisions, providing compliance
Education
advice, and defending against agency and citizen enforcement actions. A
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Negotiating the terms of NPDES and indirect discharge permits for industrial and
municipal facilities, including electric power plants, offshore oil and gas facilities
Phi Beta Kappa

Order of the Coif
facilities, steel mills, nonferrous metals manufacturing facilities, publicly owned
Articles Editor, Washington Law
treatment works, and municipal stormwater systems.
Defending administrative and judicial challenges by nongovernmental
organizations to the provisions of NPDES permits issued to an oil refinery and a
nonferrous metal manufacturing facility.
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Negotiating settlements of agency administrative enforcement actions against a
variety of facilities, including municipal water treatment plants, wood preserving
facilities, construction sites, and metals manufacturing facilities.
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Review
An administrative appeal of the terms of an NPDES permit issued to a wood
products facility.
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University of Washington School of
Law, J.D., 1986 with honors
in Alaska, chemical manufacturers, pulp and paper mills, wood products
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Reed College, B.A., Division of History
and the Social Sciences, 1981
representative selection of recent matters includes:
Defending or negotiating settlements of CWA citizen suits against wood products,
recycling, and equipment manufacturing facilities and users of logging roads.
Admissions
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Oregon
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U.S. District Court, District of Oregon
Michael R. Campbell
Development of General NPDES Permits, Water Quality Standards, and Other Water Quality Regulations
Michael has represented coalitions and individual industrial and utility clients in developing, negotiating, and defending ge neral
NPDES permits, water quality standards, and other water quality regulations and guidance in the Pacific Northwest. In these efforts,
Michael often serves as the industrial representative on agency advisory committees for the development of water quality stan dards
and general discharge permits. Recent matters include:
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Developing and negotiating Oregon water quality criteria and implementing regulations for toxic pollutants.
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Administratively challenging and negotiating water quality standards and developing a use attainability analysis (UAA) for a
Colorado stream channel.
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Developing and negotiating Oregon general industrial stormwater permits.
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Challenging agency guidance and settlement agreement provisions related to compliance schedules for water quality-based
effluent limits in NPDES permits.
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Litigation challenging EPA approvals of Oregon temperature and mercury total maximum daily loads (TMDLs) and Washington
water quality standards.
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Commenting on proposed listings of water quality limited waterbodies pursuant to CWA subsection 303(d).
Section 401 Certifications for the Relicensing of Federally Licensed Hydroelectric Facilities
Much of Michael's practice is devoted to helping hydroelectric facilities obtain section 401 certifications in conjunction wi th the
relicensing of the facilities by the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission (FERC). This includes strategic advice regarding information
needs, negotiating information demands by certifying agencies, negotiating certification conditions, and addressing related matters,
such as TMDL allocations, water quality criteria revisions and variances, and the application of state law to federally licensed
facilities. In relicensing proceedings involving a negotiated settlement, this work includes negotiating settlement terms to integrate
the certification into the broader settlement agreement. Representative certifications, including pending certifications, include:
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Certification of a multi-facility hydroelectric project in Oregon as part of a negotiated FERC relicensing proceeding.
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Certification of the interim operation and ultimate removal of a hydroelectric facility in Oregon as part of a negotiated FERC
relicensing proceeding.
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Certification of a multi-facility hydroelectric project in Washington as part of a negotiated FERC relicensing proceeding.
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Certification of the removal of a hydroelectric facility in Washington pursuant to a negotiated settlement.
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Certification of a multi-facility hydroelectric project in Oregon.
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Pending certification of a multi-facility, multi-state hydroelectric project in the Pacific Northwest.
Professional Honors and Activities
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Selected by Best Lawyers® as Water Law Lawyer of the Year, Portland, 2011
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Listed in Best Lawyers in America© (currently: Environmental Law, Water Law), 2007, 2009-2016
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Northwest Pulp & Paper Association Outstanding Legal Service Award, 2014
Michael R. Campbell
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Selected as one of "America's Leading Lawyers for Business" (Oregon) by Chambers USA (currently: Environment), 2006-2016
Advisory Committees
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Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Blue Ribbon Committee on the Wastewater Permitting Program (2002-present)
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Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Advisory Committee on Revisions to the Aquatic Life Water Quality Standards for
Copper (2015-2016)
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State of Oregon Integrated Water Resources Strategy Policy Advisory Committee (2009-2012)
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Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Industrial Stormwater Advisory Committee (2009-2011)
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Oregon Department of Environmental Quality Toxics Criteria Rulemaking Workgroup (2008-2010)
Presentations
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"Oregon and Washington Water Quality Standards," Northwest Environmental Conference, Portland, Oregon, December 9, 2015
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"Implementing Oregon's Human Health Water Quality Criteria," Northwest Toxics Reduction and Water Quality Conference,
Seattle, Washington, December 7, 2015
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"Update on Pending Water Quality Litigation in the Pacific Northwest," Northwest Pulp and Paper Association Annual Meeting,
Vancouver, Washington, June 3, 2015
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"The Legal Significance of Stormwater Discharge Benchmarks," Environmental Law Education Center Advanced Conference on
Stormwater & Source Control, Portland, Oregon, March 17, 2015
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"Oregon Water Quality Criteria for Temperature," Northwest Environmental Conference, Portland, Oregon, December 9, 2014
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"Waters of the United States," Oregon Water Law Conference, Portland, Oregon, November 7, 2014
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"Standards Based on Higher Fish Consumption Rates: Effects on Water Quality and Dischargers," ELI Professional Practice
Webinar, September 16, 2014
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"Legal Framework for Revising Oregon's Copper Criteria," 2014 Oregon Association of Clean Water Agencies (ACWA) Annual
Conference, Bend, Oregon, July 23, 2014
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“EPA’s Proposal on Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act: A Significant Expansion of Federal Authority?” Stoel Rives
Environment, Land Use and Natural Resources Group Lunch Workshop Series, Portland, Oregon, May 1, 2014
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“Clean Water Act Update: Forest Roads, Oregon Standards Litigation, and Jurisdictional Waters,” Pacific Northwest Timberlands
Seminar, Portland, Oregon, April 18, 2014
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“Legal Framework for Revised Water Quality Standards,” 2014 Water Quality Conference, Portland, Oregon, April 11, 2014
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“Water Quality Standards and ESA Section 7,” Endangered Species Act Conference, Seattle, Washington, January 23, 2014
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“Stormwater Permit Enforcement,” Northwest Environmental Conference, Portland, Oregon, December 10, 2013
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“Los Angeles County Flood Control Dist. v. NRDC, National Hydropower Association Annual Conference, Washington, D.C., April
24, 2013
Michael R. Campbell
Publications
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“EPA and the Corps Issue Clean Water Act Rule Defining Waters of the United States,” Environmental and Natural Resources Law
Section, Oregon State Bar Legal Publications, Issue 3, 2015
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"Key Issues in Setting Water Quality Standards," Environmental Law Reporter, 45 ELR 10193, March 2015
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“Water Quality Standards & Fish Consumption: Efforts in the Pacific Northwest to Adopt More Stringent Water Quality Standards
Based on Higher Fish Consumption Rates,” The Water Report, Issue 126, August 2014
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"Waters Protected by the Clean Water Act: Cutting Through the Rhetoric on the Proposed Rule," Environmental Law Reporter,
44 ELR 10559, July 2014
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"Water Quality" (Chapter 3), Environmental Law, Oregon State Bar Legal Publications, 2013
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"Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy Lease Agreements," The Law of Marine and Hydrokinetic Energy: A Guide to Business and Legal
Issues, Stoel Rives LLP, Vol 4, 2011 (formerly The Law of Ocean and Tidal Energy.)
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ABA, Natural Resources & Environment, "Achieving a Successful Storm Water Permit Program in Oregon," Vol. 21, nos. 4, 39,
2007