Ana Maria Gutiérrez is Head of Womble Bond Dickinson’s U.S. Environmental Practice and a nationally recognized environmental and energy lawyer who advises clients on high-stakes regulatory, permitting, and litigation matters at the local, regional, national, and international levels. She provides strategic counsel across the full spectrum of environmental and energy issues, including policy development and rulemaking, compliance and ESG/climate initiatives, enforcement defense, complex transactions and due diligence, and litigation, with a particular focus on appellate advocacy.
Ana represents clients across the energy, natural resources, infrastructure, manufacturing, transportation, and industrial sectors. She is widely recognized for her work under major federal environmental statutes and regulatory programs, including the Clean Air Act, Clean Water Act, National Environmental Policy Act, Endangered Species Act, public lands permitting frameworks, RCRA, and PHMSA requirements. She is also at the forefront of emerging air quality and climate policy, advising clients on greenhouse gas and methane regulations, emissions trading and crediting programs, carbon management initiatives, and the implementation of complex regulatory requirements.
A trusted advisor to leading companies and industry organizations, Ana regularly leads multidisciplinary teams and industry coalitions through consequential administrative proceedings, rulemakings, permitting matters, and appeals. Her appellate practice is informed by deep technical and regulatory experience developed at the rulemaking stage, allowing her to translate complex policy and administrative record issues into compelling judicial advocacy.
Most notably, Ana helped lead the challenge to EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan, one of the most consequential Clean Air Act rulemakings in recent years. After the D.C. Circuit denied a request for stay, Ana and her team successfully sought a stay from the United States Supreme Court. In the landmark case Ohio v. EPA, the Court took the unusual step of hearing oral argument on the emergency application and ultimately stayed the rule in a 5-4 decision, finding that the challengers were likely to prevail on their claims that EPA acted arbitrarily and capriciously. The case remains one of the most significant environmental and administrative law disputes currently before the federal courts.
Industry groups and other interested parties often seek Ana out to file amicus curiae briefs on their behalf.
Known for her collaborative and pragmatic approach, Ana works closely with regulators, technical experts, business leaders, and community stakeholders to advance critical projects and deliver practical, durable solutions.
Ana’s work has been recognized by leading business and legal organizations, including Chambers USA, Law Week Colorado, and the Denver Business Journal.
Representative Experience
Any result the lawyer or law firm may have achieved on behalf of clients in other matters does not necessarily indicate similar results can be obtained for other clients.
- Represented an oil and gas transmission and storage as petitioner in Ohio v. EPA, successfully obtaining a stay from the U.S. Supreme Court of EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan pending judicial review. (144 S. Ct. 2040 (2024)).
- Represents an oil and gas transmission and storage company as petitioner in the ongoing D.C. Circuit challenge to EPA’s Good Neighbor Plan, a landmark Clean Air Act rule with significant implications for federal air quality regulation and administrative law.
- Filed an amicus brief curiae in the Seventh Circuit in support of Energy Transfer’s motion to stay the Good Neighbor Plan pending judicial review (Energy Transfer LLP v. EPA, 7th Cir. Case Nos. 23-2510 & 2511).
- Filed an amicus brief curiae in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia support of plaintiff’s motion for summary judgment on behalf of GTL Properties, LLLP involving a challenge to the U.S. Department of the Interior’s decision regarding certain lands being taken into trust and whether they qualified as restored lands under the Indian Gaming Regulatory Act (D.D.C. Case No. 1:25-cv-00958-TNM).
- Representing a major oil and gas transmission and storage company before the New Mexico Court of Appeals in the appeal of the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board’s adoption of a Regional Haze State Implementation Plan for the second planning period (N.M. Ct. App. Case No.
- Serves as trusted counsel to regulated entities in Colorado’s landmark greenhouse gas rulemakings, including representation of a leading food and beverage company in the State’s 2022 and 2026 GHG regulations and anticipated future rulemakings implementing Colorado’s climate objectives.
- Represented a major mining company in all local, state, and federal environmental and permitting matters related to a greenfield development project in the Western United States.
- Representing an oil and gas trade organization before the New Mexico Environmental Improvement Board regarding a proposed Methane Abate Rule (EIB 26-78 (R)).
- Represented a midstream oil and gas company in successfully settling with the Department of Justice and the Colorado Attorney General’s Office alleged violations of certain leak detection and repair provisions of the Clean Air Act.
- Consistently represent oil and gas and manufacturing clients before state regulators in matters of enforcement defense involving alleged air quality, water quality, NEPA, species, or waste regulations.
- Conduct a comprehensive analysis for a major mining company regarding the applicability of the Bevill exemption under the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act.
- Represented ski areas in all aspects of environmental review and compliance, including those related to the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA).
- Represented a major nuclear decommissioning company in navigating the NEPA and the National Historic Preservation Act relating to the decommissioning of a retired nuclear facility.
- Represented a state association and several oil and gas producers in methane rulemaking before the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission.
- Represented a renewable energy developer in the permitting of a large-scale wind project with complex and cutting-edge environmental issues.
- Represented a utility provider in obtaining necessary federal permits from the U.S. Forest Service and other public land management agencies.
- Represented ski areas on environmental and federal land use matters.
- Advised on oil and gas transactions and related due diligence, domestically and internationally.
- Represented a major transmission and natural gas storage company regarding CAA regulatory and enforcement issues.
- Represented a major oil and gas company regarding Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulations matters for both onshore and offshore operations.
- Significant experience in representing the oil and gas industry with matters relating to the Endangered Species Act issues.
- Advised numerous oil and gas companies in obtaining leases, permits to drill, and rights-of-way from the BLM, including counsel regarding NEPA compliance.
- Advised oil and gas companies regarding lease protests.
- Drafted comments on behalf of oil and gas companies relating to BLM land use management plans, including related to proposed leasing stipulations.
- Represented a power company in a major Clean Air Act (CAA) enforcement case initiated by the DOJ and EPA.
- Represented a major industrial manufacturer regarding NSR compliance and permitting obligations.
- Represented multiple major upstream companies before DOJ, EPA, and state agencies regarding alleged CAA and state implementation plan violations.
- Provided regulatory counsel to oil and gas companies on Tribal NSR and Tribal implementation plan compliance obligations.
Professional Engagement
- Colorado Oil and Gas Association, Advisory Board Member
- New Mexico Oil and Gas Association, Member
- American Bar Association
- Colorado Bar Association
- Colorado Hispanic Bar Association
- Colorado Pledge to Diversity, Former President
- Denver Metro Chamber Leadership Foundation, Leadership Class of 2020
Honors & Awards
- Chambers USA Ranked Lawyer in Environment (Colorado), 2021 - Present; Energy & Natural Resources (Colorado), 2022 - Present
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® in Environmental Law, 2023 - Present
- Named to The Lawdragon 500 Leading Environmental Lawyers – The Green 500, 2025 - Present
- Named a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion by the Denver Business Journal, 2023
- Legal 500 US, Environment: Regulatory, 2021
- Named to the Denver Business Journal List of Top Women in Energy, 2016, 2020
- Law Week Colorado, Up-and-Coming Lawyers, 2014
Presentations & Publications
- Co-Author, "Pulling the Critical Block: EPA’s Repeal of the Endangerment Finding Could Topple Climate Rules," August 1, 2025
- Speaker, “Clean Energy Transition: The Tradeoffs,” American Bar Association’s 52nd Spring Conference on Environmental Law (Denver), April 26, 2023
- Media Mention, “Senate Bill 181 Still Foggy Even During Implementation,” Law Week Colorado, August 19, 2019
- Author, “Laying the Groundwork: NEPA’s Purpose, Levels of Agency Review, and Process Overview,” Rocky Mountain Mineral Law Foundation, November 2017
- Co-Author, “The America First Energy Policy of the Trump Administration,” The Journal of Energy & Natural Resources Law, May 25, 2017
