Ana Maria Gutiérrez has local, Rocky Mountain regional, national, and international experience and offers strategic counsel on policy and legal matters. She is recognized for her knowledge of environmental and permitting issues affecting many industries, including power transmission, oil and natural gas (exploration, production, refining, transport, and onshore and offshore storage), mining, natural resources, manufacturing, refinery, food and beverage, pharmaceutical, and waste management, among others. Ana uses her wealth of knowledge to provide sophisticated advice to clients to mitigate risk and obtain successful outcomes. She serves as Head of the Environmental Practice.
Ana counsels companies in implementing compliance programs, climate initiatives, and transactional due diligence across a range of environmental issues relating to the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act, public lands, the National Environmental Policy Act, the Endangered Species Act, the Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration regulations, and other federal environmental statutes and regulations.
Ana is committed to meaningful, effective engagement with a variety of stakeholders to advance important projects and goals. She has been recognized by business and legal organizations for her client representations, 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 a food and beverage company in a precedent-setting greenhouse gas (GHG) rulemaking before the Colorado Air Quality Control Commission to comply with Colorado’s statutory GHG reduction targets.
- Represented a major transmission and natural gas storage company in an appeal of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s “Good Neighbor Plan” before the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia.
- 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.
- 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.
- 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
- 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
- Named a Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Champion by the Denver Business Journal, 2023
- Chambers USA Ranked Lawyer in Environment (Colorado), 2021-Present; Energy & Natural Resources (Colorado), 2022-Present
- 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
- 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
