Chris Bowers
Senior Attorney
Chris is an advocate for clean water, addressing harms inflicted by industrial pollution and related activity. He has represented grassroots partners in federal court throughout SELC’s region, seeking enforcement of some of the nation’s bedrock environmental protection laws by the fossil fuel and manufacturing industries.
Based in SELC’s Georgia office, Chris is a lead advocate in the fight to safeguard waterways from pollution from per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS), a dangerous class of industrial chemicals. “As our understanding of the harms imposed by ‘forever chemicals’ increases, SELC has turned its attention to combating related water pollution,” Chris says. “Our waterways face perpetual threats from industrial pollution. SELC’s work has been instrumental in combating those threats, seeking to address pollution at its source as intended by many of our key environmental protection laws.”
Chris is also a principal advocate in SELC’s efforts in the state to promote the responsible disposal of combustion residuals (coal ash) in modern, dry lined landfills, and to protect against improper waste handling and related contamination tied to this industrial waste. In 2016, Chris and others at SELC represented plaintiff in the nation’s first Clean Water Act citizen enforcement suit to reach trial in federal district court, arising from arsenic contamination of a nearby river caused by coal ash waste disposal at a retired coal-fired electric power generation facility.
Chris enjoys visiting Georgia’s undeveloped coastline, as well as hiking north Georgia’s numerous nature trails. SELC provides him “meaningful, challenging work that produces tangible results in safeguarding our environment,” he said. “It is an honor to work among dedicated, talented SELC colleagues specializing in an array of disciplines to tackle these challenges daily.”
Previous Experience
- Smith, Gambrell, & Russell, LLP, Counsel
- J.D., University of Minnesota
- B.A., University of Washington, cum laude