Christopher McAuliffe

Practice Areas

Christopher McAuliffe, partner in the litigation practice, counsels clients on obtaining environmental approvals for new development, managing environmental risk associated with acquisitions and divestitures, climate change laws, and compliance with water pollution control and air pollution control requirements. He also advises clients on solid and hazardous waste, site remediation, brownfields, natural resource damages, and environmental cleanup cost-recovery matters. Chris brings to his practice experience gained while working as vice president of environmental, litigation, and employment in the law department of a large energy company.

Chris represents developers, lenders, equity investors, utilities, and independent power producers in connection with the environmental and land use aspects of development, financing, acquisition, and disposition of energy and infrastructure projects. He also advises clients on environmental matters arising in mergers and acquisitions (M&A) involving natural gas, hydroelectric, solar, wind, and battery storage alternative energy projects including obtaining necessary approvals for projects within the Highlands region of New Jersey. Examples include defending those approvals in administrative and New Jersey Superior Court Appellate Division proceedings. He has an extensive background in environmental due diligence for the acquisition and sale of assets and companies.

Highlights of his experience include negotiating one of the first voluntary consent decrees in the utility industry to resolve allegations of noncompliance with new source review (NSR) and prevention of significant deterioration (PSD) requirements. He has represented clients in litigation and regulatory proceedings arising out of land, sediment, and waterbody environmental cleanup sites including the Passaic River and Newark Bay complex.

He regularly obtains the environmental approvals clients need for compliance with New Jersey’s Industrial Site Recovery Act (ISRA). He is often able to develop and implement strategies that do not trigger ISRA’s remediation obligations.

He provides environmental compliance assistance for facilities located in multiple states. He has experience in advising and defending clients with respect to permits under the Clean Water Act, the Clean Air Act’s restrictions on engine manufacturing, and the management and disposal of hazardous waste, as well as Title V, minor source, PSD, and NSR permits under the Clean Air Act and state air pollution control laws.

While in-house counsel, he provided legal advice and representation to the company’s electric delivery, gas delivery, and electric-generating business. His job focused on matters arising under environmental, real estate, land use, and intellectual property law and Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) regulations. He managed a group of lawyers and paralegals who provided environmental, litigation, and employment legal services to the corporation.

To learn more about Chris and his experience, please go to: https://www.morganlewis.com/bios/cmcauliffe.

Personal

Boston College Law School, 1993, J.D.

College of the Holy Cross, 1990, B.A.

Industry Sector Expertise

Energy