Cris guides clients operating in New Mexico through complex environmental matters, specializing in water rights, water quality, and hazardous waste issues.
Cris has represented energy companies, municipalities, and private parties before local government authorities, state and federal agencies, and state and federal district courts on water rights matters and water-related environmental matters. She has extensive experience helping clients navigate regulatory, permitting, and administrative challenges involving water rights, water quality, and hazardous waste. Cris regularly advises multiple industry sectors on federal rulemaking, regulatory requirements, and developments under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), the Clean Water Act (CWA), and other comprehensive environmental statutory schemes. Cris also helps clients anticipate requirements and respond to allegations concerning nuanced compliance issues for projects bordering or crossing tribal lands, including tribal consultation requirements and the National Historic Preservation Act.
Prior to joining Holland & Hart, Cris served as Environment, Safety, and Health Counsel for Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL) spearheading litigation, compliance, and permitting on RCRA issues as well as matters related to LANL’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination (NPDES) Permit that covers 11 mission-critical industrial and sanitary wastewater outfalls.