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Philip (Chip) Ahrens joined Pierce Atwood as a partner in 1990. Having concentrated his practice on environmental matters almost exclusively since 1977, Chip has extensive experience in the entire range of environmental law. Prior to joining Pierce Atwood, Chip spent 12 years in the Natural Resources Division of the Maine Attorney General’s Office, serving as Deputy Attorney General and Division Chief for eight years. While in the Attorney General’s Office, he supervised the State’s environmental enforcement efforts and litigated major cases in all areas of the State’s environmental laws. He also provided legal advice and representation to the State’s environmental agencies, the Governor’s Office and the Legislature. After having represented the State’s environmental agencies while he was Deputy Attorney General and Chief of the Natural Resources Section of the Maine Attorney General’s Office, Chip now represents clients before those agencies on an entire range of issues. Much of his practice time is spent counseling clients on complex, significant regulatory and enforcement matters, including major permitting matters before the Maine Department of Environmental Protection and Land Use Regulation Commission. He has represented both plaintiffs and defendants in many of the most significant environmental licensing and enforcement proceedings in Maine during the past 30 years. Chip has also represented clients before the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on a number of occasions.In recent years, Chip has successfully represented developers who have received the required regulatory approvals for three major natural gas-fired electric generating facilities, a large scale wind energy project, a significant expansion of a large shipyard, a 20-year expansion of a commercial solid waste facility, and a major spring water bottling facility. Currently, Chip is representing developers of a new large-scale wind energy project, a new major spring water bottling facility and related water sources, and a LNG facility. Education Chip earned a B.A. with honors from Amherst College (1968) and a J.D. from the University of Michigan Law School (1975). He served with the United States Navy from 1968 through 1972. Professional Activities Chip is a member of the American and Maine State Bar Associations. Chip was the Chair of the Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section of the Maine State Bar Association for six years. Chip is also Vice-chair of the Special Committee on State and Regional Environmental Cooperation for the American Bar Association’s Section on Natural Resources, Energy and Environmental Law. He has served on many other advisory committees and has lectured both in Maine and nationally on a variety of environmental law topics. Most recently, he was a member of a DEP Task Force for the development of the DEP’s Visual Impact Assessment rule. Publications Chip is the editor and co-author of the Maine Environmental and Land Use Statutes Deskbook. He has authored numerous publications on many topics in environmental law, including environmental enforcement, wetlands, solid waste, hazardous waste and land use. Honors and DistinctionsChip is listed in the 2007 edition of Woodward/White’s The Best Lawyers in America for Environmental Law and Natural Resources Law; and is recognized as a Leader in Maine in Chambers USA. He has also been named one of the Lawdragon 3,000 leading lawyers in America. Bar Admissions Chip was admitted to the Bar in 1975 for both Maine and the U.S. District Court, District of Maine. He has also been admitted to practice before the U.S. Court of Appeals, First Circuit (1979); U.S. Court of Appeals, Ninth Circuit (1986); and the United States Supreme Court (1991). Practice Areas Environmental & Land UseGovernmental Relations Related Practice Areas Environmental Litigation Land Use Wind Power Past Events and Engagements 9/8/2005 - Environmental Law in Maine 2005 Update Seminar 9/8/2004 - Environmental Law in Maine 2004 Update Seminar | 