Counsel
Representative Matters in Environment and Energy:
Timothy K. Shaw
Bio
Chip is a member of the firm’s Environment & Energy Practice Team in Washington, D.C. Prior to joining the firm, Chip served for over eight years as an active service member in the United States Air Force Judge Advocate General’s Corps, most recently as a Senior Environmental Attorney.
Chip’s practice focuses on counseling clients on regulatory, permitting, and compliance issues under a range of federal and state environmental laws, including the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), Endangered Species Act, National Historic Preservation Act, the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA), Resource Conservation and Recovery Act (RCRA), and Clean Water Act (CWA). Mr. Shaw’s practice has also included advising on environmental and permitting issues associated with the development of large-scale infrastructure projects, including energy generation and transmission projects and transportation projects, environmental regulatory compliance, protection of cultural and historic resources, emergency incident responses, and Enhanced Use Leases.
Mr. Shaw’s federal practice also placed him at the intersection of environmental compliance and government contracting, where he advised on Defense Production Act Title III investment agreements and Enhanced Use Leases. He also served as the lead fiscal, contracts, and ethics attorney during Air Force Materiel Command’s participation in the 2024 Oshkosh air show.
Prior to serving as a Senior Environmental Attorney, Chip served as litigation counsel for Air Force criminal investigations, disciplinary, and civil law matters, and as Civil Law Counsel, where he and his team provided legal assistance to over 2,300 military members and their families on matters relating to estate planning, family law, tax, divorce, child support, consumer protection, and landlord/tenant disputes.
Chip continues to serve as a Major in the U.S. Air Force Reserve as a Judge Advocate at Hanscom Air Force Base in Boston, Massachusetts. Chip holds an LLM (Master of Laws) in Energy and Environmental Law from the George Washington University Law School.
Environment and Energy
As a Senior Environmental Attorney for the U.S. Air Force, Mr. Shaw provided environmental counsel to nine military installations (affecting 89,000 personnel) including eight Air Force Materiel Command Bases (Wright-Patterson, Eglin, Edwards, Tinker, Robins, Hanscom, Hill, and Arnold Air Force Bases) and Air Force Plants 4, 6, and 42, which are all aircraft manufacturing and maintenance facilities, and Air Force Plant 44, a weapons manufacturing facility. In that role, he guided environmental compliance and planning for a wide range of infrastructure projects, and environmental analyses for water and wastewater projects, energy generation, and real estate and land use matters. With respect to energy generation and transmission projects, Mr. Shaw has advised on the development of multi-billion-dollar solar, wind, and natural gas electrical generation and transmission projects.
Representative Matters in Environment and Energy:
- Lead environmental counsel for $2 billion of solar energy and transmission projects (generating 1.4 Gigawatts under Enhanced Use Lease program) and a 20,000-acre Readiness and Environmental Protection Integration Program restrictive use easement, protecting flight corridors at Edwards Air Force Base in Kern County, California.
- Lead counsel for multiple test corridor and range space projects at Eglin Air Force Base and Edwards Air Force Base, including extended range Joint Air-to-Surface Standoff Missile, Low-Cost Cruise Missile range environmental assessment.
- Lead environmental counsel for construction of Long-Range Standoff Weapon manufacturing facility.
- Co-drafted Secretarial response to Senate Armed Services Committee regarding HQ USSPACECOM basing decision.
- Lead environmental counsel for over $400 million in Defense Production Act initiatives, including rare earth mineral exploration and supply chain operations.
- Lead environmental counsel for Kingpin Mission beddown, Spectrum Warfare Group Activation, and E-11A Squadron Beddown at Robins Air Force Base in Warner Robins, Georgia.
- Lead environmental counsel for 43.5-acre Enhanced Use Lease development at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base in Dayton, Ohio.
- Performed environmental due diligence for corporate and institutional clients on commercial and industrial property transactions involving more than 100 properties.
Historic Preservation and Tribal Consultation
Chip also advised the Air Force on the protection of historic and cultural resources under Section 106 of the National Historic Preservation Act, including by serving as lead environmental counsel in consultations between the Air Force and Native American Tribes.
Representative Matters in Historic Preservation and Tribal Consultation:
- Lead environmental counsel to Air Force Research Labs leadership during consultations with Native Village of Teller, Native Village of Brevig Mission, and Mary’s Igloo Traditional Council, including in White House Council of Native American Affairs meeting.
- Lead environmental counsel for historic hangar modification and renovation of historic hangar to accommodate E-7 fleet at Tinker Air Force Base.
Environmental Compliance and Incident Response
Mr. Shaw counsels clients on environmental compliance audits, regulatory inspections, permit condition compliance, spill and release responses, and other environmental emergencies. His experience spans PFAS and AFFF investigations and remediation, wastewater and stormwater compliance, Toxic Release Inventory reporting, and voluntary disclosures.
Representative Matters in Environmental Compliance and Incident Response:
- Environmental counsel for PFAS-containing AFFF clean-up post-F-35A mishap at Hill Air Force Base, Ogden, Utah.
- Environmental counsel for Air Force Plant 46 firewater loop PFAS remediation and spill response.
- Lead environmental counsel for Air Force Plant 6 wastewater tie-on project to Cobb County Water System in Marietta, Georgia.
- Lead counsel for full-spectrum environmental compliance inspections at three Air Force industrial plants.
- Lead advisor to Office of Special Counsel investigation regarding wastewater complaint at large depot operation.
- Authored monthly PFAS update briefing memoranda for Fortune 500 companies tailored to each business’ requirements.
- Counseled major automotive manufacturer in connection with Toxic Release Inventory audit findings and voluntary disclosure to EPA.
Transportation & Aviation
Mr. Shaw advises clients on environmental and regulatory issues associated with airfield, rail, and surface transportation infrastructure projects. His experience includes work on major runway, interchange, and airfield infrastructure projects at active military installations, including joint use airfields with civilian Part 91, 121 and 135 operations. Chip’s understanding of aviation issues is further enhanced by his six years as an instrument-rated civilian pilot.
Representative Matters in Transportation & Aviation:
- Lead environmental counsel for 12,000-foot main runway repaving project at Wright-Patterson Air Force Base, Dayton, Ohio.
- Lead environmental counsel for $71.8 million joint Department of Transportation and Barksdale Air Force Base I-220/I-20 interchange project.
- Lead environmental counsel for KC-46 ramp expansion project at Tinker Air Force Base, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.
- Counsel to short line railroad holding company on RCRA hazardous waste matter.
Articles & Publications
- Author, “Greenhat’s Greenlight to the CFTC: The Case for a Jurisdictional Shift of Financial Transmission Rights from the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission to The Commodity Futures Trading Commission,” DePaul Bus. & Com. L.J., 2025
- Coauthor, “Negotiating Mitigation in Project Development: How to Avoid an Unmitigated Disaster,” Foundation of Natural Resources and Energy Law Special Institute on The Federal Administrative Practice in the Context of Project Development, Apr. 16-17, 2026.
