Matthew A. Love

Matthew Love's practice focuses on federal and state natural resource and environmental law, particularly on matters pertaining to the Clean Water Act (CWA), Endangered Species Act (ESA), Federal Power Act, Magnuson-Stevens Act, and Indian law.  Prior to joining Van Ness Feldman, Matt served as Assistant Attorney General for Washington State and as a trial attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice.  Matt represents utilities, renewable energy developers (including hydroelectric, tidal, geothermal, and wind projects), seafood companies, and government entities.  His recent or ongoing representations include:

• Providing the City of Tacoma with relicensing, litigation, and compliance counsel for the 131 MW Cushman Project, resulting in an historic settlement of one of the longest lasting relicensing cases at FERC as well as the settlement of a federal court lawsuit involving a damage claim by the Skokomish Indian Tribe.   
• Providing Snohomish County Public Utility District relicensing and compliance counsel for the 111 MW Jackson Project, one of the first FERC relicensings to use the Integrated Licensing Process. 
• Providing counsel on CWA Section 401 certifications, the ESA, the Coastal Zone Management Act, the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA) and Indian law matters for hydroelectric projects and on ESA and NEPA matters for wind and pipeline projects.
• Serving as Tacoma’s appellate litigation counsel for the 462 MW Cowlitz River project and successfully defending the Cowlitz Project relicensing settlement agreement before the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit.
• Counseling PacifiCorp in relicensing, litigation, and compliance matters regarding the Klamath Project. 
• Representing clients on ESA and other complex natural resource matters that involve federal hydroelectric projects, including projects on the Columbia River and Missouri River.
• Counseling seafood companies on regulatory issues involving the Pacific Fisheries Management Council and North Pacific Fisheries Management Council.
• Representing seafood companies in arbitrations, CWA rulemaking and enforcement proceedings, and other commercial fisheries matters. 

Professional Background

During Matt’s tenure as an Assistant Attorney General, he represented the State of Washington and the Washington Department of Fish and Wildlife in natural resource litigation and other matters involving the ESA, fisheries, water, and Indian law issues.

While serving as a Trial Attorney for the U.S. Department of Justice, Matt defended federal agencies in litigation involving the ESA, the Magnuson-Stevens Act, the Marine Mammal Protection Act, the Administrative Procedures Act, and NEPA.

Matt served as a Fulbright Scholar in Ghana, West Africa during the 2005-2006 academic year.  As a Fulbright, he taught courses in environmental, natural resource, and public international law at Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology in Kumasi, Ghana.

Government Service

Fulbright Scholar, Lecturer and Researcher:  Natural Resource Law, Ghana, West Africa, 2005-2006

Assistant Attorney General, Fish Wildlife & Parks Division, Washington State Attorney General's Office, 1995-1999, 2001-2003

Trial Attorney, Wildlife & Marine Resources Section, U.S. Department of Justice, 1999-2001

Fisheries/Integrated Agricultural Extension Agent, U.S. Peace Corps, 1988-1990

Professional and Civic Affiliations

• General Counsel, Northwest Hydroelectric Association, 2010-2013
• Editorial Board, Washington State Bar Environmental and Land Use Section, 2011

Honors & Distinctions

• Best Lawyers in America; Energy Law, Environmental Law, Native American Law, Natural Resources Law; 2012

Speaking Engagements

• NWHA 2012 Annual Conference: Hydropower: Clean, Green, Reliable, February 21, 2012
• KCBA Environmental & Land Use Section's January Brown Bag CLE: 2011 Environmental Law Update and What to Expect in 2012, January 25, 2012
• National Hydropower Association Alaska Regional Meeting, August 30, 2011
• NWHA Hydropower: Generating a Clean Future, February 22, 2011
• The Seminar Group: Hydropower in Montana, November 19, 2010
• Hydropower in the Northwest, November 4, 2010

News

• For 7th Consecutive Year, Van Ness Feldman Professionals Are Among "The Best Lawyers in America"