Claudia Powers is an environmental and energy lawyer. Her practice focuses on environmental law, and her clients include international chemical, paper and industrial gases corporations, light and heavy industries, solid and municipal waste companies, electric utility companies, and a shipyard.
Claudia chairs the Environmental Practice Group at Ater Wynne and is one of five Oregon environmental attorneys to receive the best ranking in Chambers U.S.A. She is also listed in Best Lawyers in America for her expertise in Environmental Law and is listed as an Oregon Super Lawyer. Her background and experience in energy, sustainability, and environmental law has put her at the top of those sought out for complicated superfund, natural resources, and contaminated property redevelopment projects. Currently, she is working on the redevelopment of industrial property inside the Portland, Oregon Urban Growth Boundary, a project involving public and private cooperation with the Oregon Business Development Department’s Brownfields Program and the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality. She also serves as the environmental attorney for the Portland Shipyard where she led the legal team in all environmental aspects of the acquisition and operation of the Shipyard, and she served as lead counsel on a multi-million pulp and paper mill upgrade and recycling project for a national newsprint manufacturer.
She is the lead environmental attorney for an international steel pipe manufacturer assisting the company in acquisitions, cleanup and sales of industrial property as well as regulatory matters. She was a lead negotiator on the Portland Harbor Superfund Site with federal and state agencies, and she works on sediment and waterfront property cleanups and redevelopment in the region, including the Lower Duwamish Superfund Site in Seattle, Washington. Claudia is a skilled negotiator with broad problem-solving experience. She negotiated one of the state’s first pre-purchaser agreements for the transfer of contaminated property. She has negotiated a variety of transactions and a number of complex liability allocation agreements. She headed the environmental strategy team in one of the region's most unusual bankruptcy cases involving environmental liability. She has worked extensively with local, state, and federal regulators to successful effect for a number of years.
Professional Experience
- Ater Wynne LLP, Portland, Oregon, Partner, 1990 to present; Associate, 1987 to 1990
- Bonneville Power Administration, Attorney, Office of General Counsel, 1986 to 1987
- Bonneville Power Administration, Trial Attorney, appointed as Special Assistant to the U.S. Justice Department, Civil Division, Federal Programs Branch, Portland, Oregon, 1984 to 1986
Education
- Northwestern School of Law of Lewis & Clark College, J.D., 1982
- University of Oregon, B.S., 1970
Admitted to Practice
- Oregon, 1983
- U.S. District Court, Oregon, 1984
Professional Activities
- Oregon State Bar, Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section
- American Bar Association, Natural Resources Section
- Multnomah Bar Association
- Commissioner of first City of Portland Energy and Environment Commission
Representative Matters
- Harbor sediment and waterfront property cleanup and redevelopment at state and federal Superfund sites
- Purchase, sale and management of contaminated properties nationwide for leading Oregon businesses
- Counsel to multinational industries including Reichold, Northwest Pipe Company and Linde, Inc.
- Multi-million dollar pulp and paper mill upgrade and recycling project for national newsprint manufacturer
- Acquisition and operation of the Portland Shipyard
Representative Publications and/or Presentations
- Environmental Audits. The Oregon Deskbook on Environmental and Natural Resources Law
- Brownfields: Redeveloping Contaminated Lands. The Oregon Insider
- Asbestos. The Oregon Deskbook on Environmental and Natural Resources Law
- Brownfields Effects on Waterfront Redevelopment from the Intersection of Endangered Species Act and Contaminated Sediments. Law Seminar International Conference on Brownfields & Smart Growth in the Pacific Northwest
- Environmental Law in Oregon. Oregon Legal Guide for International Business
- Understanding Contaminated Harbor and River Sediment -- Analysis and Interpretation. University of Wisconsin Seminar, in cooperation with the Oregon Department of Environmental Quality
|
|
 |