Carolyn McIntosh counsels clients on complex environmental compliance matters and environmental, natural resources and commercial litigation. In addition to her environmental litigation and regulatory work, Carolyn counsels a variety of companies on federal land use approvals and in the renewable energy and clean technology (cleantech) arena. She has devoted much of her career to addressing exposure, remediation and cost recovery litigation related to contaminated sites under state and US federal laws in California, Colorado, Idaho, Kansas, Massachusetts, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Mexico, Utah and Wyoming. She has been the lead environmental counsel on dozens of site remediation matters, concerning regulatory compliance, arbitration and litigation.
Previously, Carolyn served as an assistant attorney general for the state of Colorado for Superfund and hazardous waste management and as a special assistant attorney general to the state of Montana, implementing its Superfund program. Carolyn has litigated cases involving the applicability of state hazardous waste management laws to the Rocky Mountain Arsenal, air quality regulatory requirements in Colorado, remediation at radioactive mill processing facilities, zoning land use and the National Environmental Policy Act.
Carolyn has extensive experience handling compliance, permitting and federal land use matters, including advising clients in Colorado, New Mexico and Nevada regarding BLM land use approval matters, air permitting for waste management companies, Clean Water Act permitting issues for the Department of Energy's Hanford installation, and hazardous waste and solid waste permitting for local governments and the waste management industry. Carolyn has represented the City and County of Denver, and the states of Colorado and Montana in major Superfund litigation and environmental compliance matters, including Lowry Landfill, the Denver Radium Sites and Uravan. She also regularly provides environmental due diligence counseling.
Carolyn has served on a number of local government boards and commissions, including 12 years on the Lafayette City Council, the last four years of which she served as the mayor of Lafayette. Carolyn served for three years on the Boulder County Long Range Planning Commission, and for four years, she participated in the Urban Drainage and Flood Control District. Additionally, Carolyn served on the Denver Regional Council of Governments Board for 10 years and on the Metro Mayor’s Council for four years. She was also a founding member of the Northwest Parkway Public Highway Authority. Carolyn is a current member of the Colorado Law Alumni Board, chairing its Nominations Committee and serving on the Diversity Committee. She is also a member of the Board of Directors of the Squire Patton Boggs Foundation, which promotes the role of public service and pro bono work in the practice of law and the development of public policy.
