Chris J. Carr

Partner

San Francisco, (415) 268-7246

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Education

University of California, Berkeley (B.A., 1990)
;
University of California, Berkeley, School of Law (J.D., 1994)
;
Boalt Hall, University of CA (Ph.D., 2004)

Practices

Clean Technology + Alternative Energy

Environment + Energy

Environmental Regulation

Bar Admissions

California

Chris Carr is co-chair of the firm’s Clean Technology + Alternative Energy Group, and chair of the firm’s Environment and Energy Group. Drawing from his experience with the U.S. Department of the Interior and the U.S. State Department’s Office of Marine Conservation, Mr. Carr represents land developers, business concerns, private individuals, public agencies and nonprofits in all areas of environmental and natural resource law, including energy, forestry, water, mining, coastal and marine resources, agriculture and land development. In particular, his practice focuses on permitting and litigation under the federal Endangered Species Act (ESA), the Clean Water Act, and the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), as well as their California counterparts: the California ESA, the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act and the California Environmental Quality Act (CEQA).

Mr. Carr regularly advises clients on permitting for large projects involving, and in investigations by and administrative proceedings before, federal and state environmental, natural resource and land management agencies, including:

Bureau of Land Management
California Board of Forestry
California Coastal Commission
California Department of Fish and Wildlife
California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection
California Fish and Game Commission
NOAA Fisheries (formerly National Marine Fisheries Service)
Regional Water Quality Control Boards
San Francisco Bay Conservation and Development Commission
State Water Resources Control Board
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
U.S. Forest Service

He frequently defends against “citizen suits” brought under federal environmental statutes, and litigates challenges to environmental permits, approvals, and review documents in federal and state courts.

Mr. Carr is recommended as a leading lawyer by Legal 500 US (2012 – 2013) and Best Lawyers (2009 – 2014). In 2013, he was recognized by Best Lawyers as “San Francisco Natural Resources Lawyer of the Year,” an honor given to a single lawyer in the metropolitan area.

Mr. Carr serves on the City of San Francisco’s Clean Technology Advisory Council, the Wine Institute’s Public Policy Committee, the California Forestry Association’s Legal Affairs Committee, and the California Construction and Industrial Materials Association’s Environment Committee. He also serves on the National Advisory Council of the Institute of Governmental Studies at U.C. Berkeley.

Metropolitan Water District of Southern California

Represent the nation's largest provider of treated drinking water in litigation challenging Biological Opinions issued by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and the National Marine Fisheries Service restricting operation of the State Water Project.

Northern California River Watch v. California Department of Fish and Game

Obtained summary judgment dismissal of a federal Endangered Species Act citizen suit alleging that a housing developer and the California Department of Fish and Game violated the plant protection provisions of the Act. The Ninth Circuit affirmed in a published decision, 620 F.3d 1075 (9th Cir. 2010).

NextLight Renewable Resources LLC

Advise NextLight with respect to protected species, wetlands and water quality permitting for solar energy site development

Pacific Forest and Watershed Lands Stewardship Council

Advise the Stewardship Council on the legal requirements for the development and implementation of a Land Conservation Plan for PG&E lands to promote beneficial public values, including California Environmental Quality Act compliance by California Public Utilities Commission, BLM and USFS authorities to enter into land transactions, and California conservation easement and real property law.

California Forestry Association

Serve as outside counsel to California's timber industry trade association on environmental regulatory and litigation matters.

Wild Equity Institute v. City and County of San Francisco, et al.

Defeated preliminary injunction and summary judgment motions that threatened to shut down the historic Sharp Park Golf Course, working pro-bono on behalf of the nonprofit defendant-intervenor San Francisco Public Golf Alliance (SFPGA). Environmental advocacy groups, led by the Center for Biological Diversity and the Wild Equity Institute, filed a lawsuit against the City and County of San Francisco seeking to shut down the Golf Course, alleging impacts to the California red-legged frog and San Francisco garter snake, both listed under the federal Endangered Species Act. Succeeded in getting the lawsuit dismissed after a U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service Biological Opinion substantiated our argument that extensive studies and expert scientific analysis support the claim that protected species and public golf can (and, indeed, do) enjoy a symbiotic relationship.