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Environmental Lawyer Joins Coastkeeper to Keep Orange County’s Water Swimmable

  • Lauren Chase to help protect water quality and play a key role in environmental advocacy in Orange County, the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley
  • Coastkeeper’s legal enforcement actions have ensured polluted storm water is captured and filtered by more than 100 industrial facilities thus far

 WHAT:

Orange County Coastkeeper announced the hiring of Lauren Chase as its new staff attorney. Lauren’s practice will be focused on litigation and advocacy efforts to protect, enhance and restore water resources in Orange County, the Inland Empire and Coachella Valley.

WHY:

Lauren’s commitment to public interest work and passion for Orange County Coastkeeper’s mission will further the organization’s environmental restoration efforts. She is highly motivated by her affinity for the outdoors to fight for Southern California’s precious water resources.

BACKGROUND:

Lauren graduated summa cum laude from The University of Alabama with a Bachelor of Arts in 2015.  She received her Juris Doctorate, with honors, from The University of Texas School of Law in 2018.  During law school, Lauren was a member of the Texas Law Review and served on the Executive Board of the Women’s Law Caucus.

Prior to joining the Coastkeeper team, Lauren spent two years at Rutan & Tucker, a large Costa Mesa-based law firm, honing her legal skills and getting to know the local legal community. She will now use her training and skills to assist Coastkeeper’s legal department in environmental litigation and advocacy.

In her spare time, Lauren can be found longboarding at San Onofre, hiking local trails or camping along the coast.

QUOTES:

“I’m ecstatic to defend the quality of our waterways to ensure all of us have a safe and healthy water supply and beautiful areas to recreate in,” said Lauren Chase, staff attorney at Orange County Coastkeeper. “The health of our water is a crucial part of our future, and as an avid ocean-goer and licensed legal professional, I feel called to use my skills to defend water quality.”

“Lauren is a great addition to our legal team and Public Health Enforcement Program,” said Garry Brown, Orange County Coastkeeper founder and president. “We want every business, big and small, to adhere to local, state and federal clean water laws to maintain and improve our water quality. In addition to enforcing clean water laws, Lauren will collaborate with regulatory agencies to provide Coastkeeper’s perspective on discharge permit renewals and related regulations.”

ADDITIONAL DETAILS AND CONTACT:

  • Organization: Orange County Coastkeeper
  • Interviews available: For interviews with Lauren Chase and Orange County Coastkeeper’s team, contact Hector Zermeño, Hector@gomixte.com or 619-732-0789 x432
  • Links to use in your story:

 

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ORANGE COUNTY COASTKEEPER: Orange County Coastkeeper is a member of the International Waterkeeper Alliance, which has 241 different independent programs across 40 countries. Founded in 1999, the mission of Coastkeeper is to protect and promote sustainable water resources that are swimmable, drinkable, and fishable. Coastkeeper is a nonprofit clean water organization that serves as a proactive steward of our fresh- and saltwater ecosystems. We work collaboratively with diverse groups in the public and private sectors to achieve healthy, accessible, and sustainable water resources for the region. We implement innovative, effective programs in education, advocacy, restoration, research, enforcement, and conservation. For more information, visit www.coastkeeper.org or call 714-850-1965.