Cynthia A. Loehr

Ms. Loehr is Of Counsel with the firm. She practices primarily in the areas of environmental and natural resources law; water law; renewable energy; contracting and procurement law; and university and education law.

Ms. Loehr’s extensive experience in environmental and natural resources law includes work on a broad spectrum of topics. She has advised clients regarding processes and requirements for air permitting, legal protections for migratory birds and endangered species at the federal and state level, requirements for coverage under nationwide and general permits for dredging and stormwater runoff, state groundwater discharge permitting and release reporting requirements, regulation of asbestos containing material, environmental impact statements, petroleum storage tank regulations and oil and gas royalty payments. Additionally, Ms. Loehr has provided legal research and litigation support on environmental, safety and public health topics for a proceeding before the Oil Conservation Commission regarding permitting of a surface waste management facility, Endangered Species Act cases in federal district and appellate courts and claims for cleanup of depleted uranium used in munitions testing and research. Ms. Loehr routinely advises clients on the legal setting for and implications of environmental investigations for liability protection and on provisions for environmental indemnities.

Her work in water law includes water rights evaluations, applications and transactions and legal analyses for water policy and planning, as well as litigation. She has represented clients in proceedings before the State Engineer on water rights applications and on water rights in real estate transactions; analyzed water rights title issues; summarized the status and use of multiple water rights for a Forty-Year Water Plan; settled objection of United States to client water rights in adjudication in state district court; analyzed mediator duty in a water rights case; and analyzed irrigation district statutory management framework.

Ms. Loehr has assessed environmental permit and consent requirements for the construction and operation of wind farms. She has drafted in-depth environmental permitting certificates and associated assumptions and exclusions for environmental permitting opinions for wind farm industrial revenue bonds and equity investment. Her assessments related to construction and operation of wind farms included cultural property law and she has analyzed options for the development and management of other cultural property.

Ms. Loehr has advised clients on a variety of procurement and contracting issues. She drafted and negotiated a contract with a Texas oil and gas field operator, including complex indemnity and liability provisions and insurance requirements, for an energy-related field research project. She advised a client on procurement options for contracting with state and local governments on energy-related services. She has analyzed contracts and state and federal procurement requirements, including for Cooperative Agreements and with respect to the Truth in Negotiations Act; modified procurement policies for a governmental client to be consistent with state and federal requirements; negotiated contract terminations; and handled a protested construction contract award on behalf of the issuing client. She also analyzed federal contracts extensively and provided representation in administrative claims under the Federal Tort Claims Act and the Contract Disputes Act. She drafted a procurement master service agreement consistent with the Federal Acquisition Regulation for a facility providing reality-based training for first responders and military and homeland security personnel.

Ms. Loehr has provided legal services to a state university on contracting and on education law, including regarding tenure, admissions, student conduct, student disciplinary action and the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act. She obtained injunctive relief against and negotiated a settlement with a threatening student. She has drafted intellectual property agreements, property leases and agreements related to easements and other property uses. Ms. Loehr has also analyzed state constitutional debt issues associated with indemnification and other agreements.

In addition to her legal experience, Ms. Loehr has 15 years of experience in environmental, geologic, and engineering projects, twelve of which were in support of the United States Department of Energy (DOE). These projects included scientific investigations related to the DOE’s National TRU Program, the Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA) and the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA). Ms. Loehr has also worked in base and precious metal exploration in the mining industry.