With over 25 years of experience, Richard Allan excels at shepherding complex deals to conclusion across a broad range of industries, from energy facility siting, to the transactional and regulatory aspects of redeveloping contaminated property.

Richard Allan represents developers in the acquisition, siting, expansion and operation of major projects, with an emphasis on energy facilities. He also regularly advises clients on the environmental aspects of real estate and business transactions, including: due diligence; negotiation of indemnities, prospective purchaser agreements and insurance coverage; and development of strategies for remediation to facilitate cost-effective and protective site redevelopment. 

Richard has represented developers on the environmental, land use and natural resource issues arising in all phases of project development, including site selection and acquisition, permitting, construction and operation. His experience includes over 2,000 megawatts of wind, solar and natural gas-fired generating facilities, as well as transmission lines and pipelines. Richard also has assisted clients with siting and expansion of many other types of facilities, including residential development, industrial facilities, ski areas, and destination resorts. His experience in adversarial proceedings ranges from numerous local land use hearings and appeals, to administrative contested cases before state agencies concerning energy facilities, wetlands, water rights and environmental enforcement, to trial court and appellate proceedings in state and federal courts.

Richard helps property owners and developers to define, understand and limit environmental liability in real estate transactions and redevelopment. He has decades of experience using a wide range of tools to address the concerns of buyers, sellers, lenders and regulators on sites as small as former gas stations and dry cleaners and as large as railyards, lumber mills and manufacturing plants.

  • Counsel for over 20 years to the owner of 40-acre former railyard in settlement of claims against railroad for past contamination and in negotiation and ongoing implementation of multi-party consent decree with Oregon DEQ for redevelopment of site as a new, mixed-use urban neighborhood.
  • Represented purchasers of contaminated sites in the negotiation of over a dozen Prospective Purchaser Agreements with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality, limiting the liability of the purchasers for existing releases of hazardous substances.
  • Counsel to investor-owned electric utility for fifteen years in the permitting of multiple generating facilities, including over 1400 MW of natural gas-fired generating capacity in Oregon and over 700 MW of wind capacity in Oregon and Washington. Initiated successful rulemaking proceeding to address carbon dioxide offset obligations of facilities operating at variable loads; advised client on more than a dozen amendments to facility site certificates from the Oregon Energy Facility Siting Council (EFSC).
  • Counsel to independent power producer in permitting of new 415 MW natural gas-fired generating facility in Umatilla County, Oregon.
  • Represented developer of 5,000-acre destination resort in local legislative proceedings for adoption of destination resort map and development ordinance, approval of resort master plan, resolution of cultural resource and wildlife habitat issues, and approval of plans for multiple phases of development.
  • Assisted clients with Section 404 and ESA Section 7 consultation for development of dock facility for new manufacturing facility on Columbia River, as well as land use permitting for associated natural gas pipeline.
  • Represented ski area located on U.S. Forest Service land in the defense of administrative appeal, U.S. District Court and Ninth Circuit challenges to new ski area master plan under NEPA, NFMA and Ski Area Permitting Act, culminating in negotiated settlement with plaintiff environmental groups to establish framework for future development.
  • Advised homebuilders regarding compliance with NPDES stormwater permit requirements; represented national homebuilder as Oregon counsel in EPA enforcement case; negotiated settlement of potential citizen suit claims against homebuilder for alleged construction-related stormwater violations.
Education & Clerkship

  • J.D., University of California, Berkeley (1988), Order of the Coif
    (Editor-in-Chief, Ecology Law Quarterly)
  • B.A., with Highest Honors, Phi Beta Kappa, University of California, Berkeley (1982)
  • Law clerk to the Honorable Malcolm M. Lucas, Chief Justice, California Supreme Court (1988-89)
Admissions & Memberships

  • State Bars of Oregon and Washington
  • U.S. District Court for Oregon
  • U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit
Recognition & Activities

  • Member, Oregon Bar Association Sections on Environment and Natural Resources, and Real Estate and Land Use
  • Member, Washington State Bar Association Environmental and Land Use Law Section
    • Martindale Hubbell AV Preeminent Rated
    • Chambers USA Environment - Oregon, Band 3 
    • Super Lawyer in Energy Law
    • Best Lawyers in Energy Law
    • Best Lawyers 2021 “Lawyer of the Year” - Energy Law, Portland OR
    • Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental & Energy Lawyers
      • Member and Chair, City of Portland Adjustment Committee (1998-2006)
      Publications & Presentations

      • Speaker, “Prospective Purchaser Agreements,” Model Toxics Control Act, Law Seminars International, Seattle, WA (October 10, 2019)
      • Author, “Oregon Enacts Phase-Out of ‘Coal-by-Wire’ and Doubles Renewable Portfolio Standard,” Pratt’s Energy Law Report, Vol. 16, No. 5 (May 2016)
      • Author, “Submerged and Submersible Lands,” Oregon State Bar Real Estate Deskbook (2015)
      • Co-author, “Questions Surround Regulating Generation Under Obama’s Climate Action Plan,” Natural Gas & Electricity (September 2013)
      • Author, “Goal 6 (Air, Water and Land Resources Quality)” and “Goal 7 (Areas Subject to Natural Hazards,” Oregon State Bar Land Use Deskbook (2010)
        • Author, “Goal 8 (Destination Resorts)” and “Goal 14 (Urbanization)” Oregon State Bar Land Use Supplement (2000)
        • Speaker, “Business Considerations for Stand-Alone Versus Co-Located Energy Storage,” Energy Storage, Law Seminars International, Seattle, WA (June 14, 2019)
        • Panelist, “Buyer Due Diligence,” Commercial Real Estate Purchases & Sales, Law Seminars International, Seattle, WA (April 18, 2019)
        • Speaker, “Permitting, Environmental and Land Use Issues,” Energy Storage, Law Seminars International, Seattle, WA (June 12, 2018)
        • Speaker, “Oregon Climate Change Laws,” Climate Change in the Pacific Northwest, Law Seminars International, Seattle, WA (June 7, 2018)
        • Speaker, “Twenty Years of Prospective Purchaser Agreements,” OSB Real Estate and Land Use Section (August 2016)
        • Co-chair, “Oregon’s Clean Electricity and Coal Transition Plan,” Law Seminars International, Portland, OR (July 28-29, 2016)
        • Panelist, “Coal and Oil Transport by Rail,” Buying & Selling Electric Power in the West, Law Seminars International, Seattle, WA (January 2015)
        • Panelist, “Energy Export and Transportation,” Environmental Law: Year in Review, OSB Environmental & Natural Resources Section (October 2014)
        • Moderator, “The Federal and State Permitting Framework,” Energy Export Permitting in the Northwest, Sea-Tac Airport, WA (June 2014)
        • Co-chair, “Energy Exports in the Northwest,” Law Seminars International (October 24-25, 2013)
        • Panelist, “Allocating Transmission Costs: Illinois Commerce Commission v. FERC,” Law Seminars International TeleBriefing (September 2013)
        • Panelist, “Natural Gas for Transportation and LNG Markets,” Law Seminars International (July 19, 2013)
        • Speaker, “Fishing for Answers in a New Regime: The Endangered Species Act and Floodplain Regulation,” Oregon State Bar Real Estate and Land Use Section Annual Meeting (August 2012)
        • Moderator, “Renewables and the Environment: Seeking an Equitable Balance,” Future Energy Conference, Portland, OR (April 2011)
        • Moderator, “Thorny Project Issues,” The Business of Renewable Energy, Portland, OR (April 2009)
        • Speaker, “Wind Projects -- Their Feasibility and Rewards,” Oregon State Bar Government Law Section, Municipal Sustainability Projects CLE (October 2008)
        • Speaker, “Destination Resorts: An Exception to ‘Exceptions,’” University of Oregon School of Law Real Estate Seminar (2007)
        • Speaker, Environmental Law Education Center, Property Transactions, Real Transactions & Real Estate Development CLE (September 2006)
        • Speaker, “Endangered Species Act: The Salmonid Listings -- Why They’re Everyone’s Concern,” Oregon State Bar Real Estate and Land Use Section Annual Meeting (August 2000)
        • Speaker, “A Survey of Environmental Issues for Real Estate Development,” Oregon State Bar, Growth and Development Issues in Real Estate and Land Use CLE (April 1999)
        • Speaker, “Federal and State Laws for Protection of Wildlife Habitat -- Conflicts Between Policies and Practices,” Law Seminars International, Fish and Wildlife Habitat CLE (August 1995)
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