Matthew D. Manahan

Since 1989 Matt Manahan has worked closely with businesses to find innovative solutions to the environmental law issues they face. He provides strategic counsel in regulatory, legislative, and judicial proceedings involving a broad range of environmental and land use issues, including those relating to energy project development, transfer and development of contaminated property, water use, energy, and Native American regulatory claims.
Matt is adept at stakeholder negotiations, including with state and federal regulators, that are a necessary part of large development permitting matters, including especially energy and commercial development projects. Matt appears before and works with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission and state and federal environmental, fish and wildlife, and conservation agencies, as well as numerous municipal planning boards and zoning boards of appeals.
Matt also counsels clients on legal issues relating to citizen-initiated referenda and people's veto campaigns in Maine. For example, Matt represented the successful landowners in the 1996, 1997, and 2000 "clearcutting" referendum campaigns, and Matt has represented clients before Maine's Commission on Governmental Ethics and Election Practices.
Honors & Distinctions
- The Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” in Land Use and Zoning Law in Portland, Maine (2018 & 2016)
- The Best Lawyers in America® "Lawyer of the Year" in Litigation - Environmental in Portland, Maine (2017)
- The Best Lawyers in America® “Lawyer of the Year” in Environmental Law in Portland, Maine (2015)
- Recognized in The Best Lawyers in America® since 2009 in the areas of Environmental Law, Land Use and Zoning Law, and Litigation - Environmental
- Chambers USA Band 1 attorney for Environmental Law
- Rated AV® Preeminent™ by Martindale-Hubbell
- Recognized in Super Lawyers for Environmental Law
- 2008: Bowdoin College Volunteer of the Year Award for service on Bowdoin Alumni Schools and Interviewing Committee
- 1994: Received Maine Bar Foundation Special Recognition Award for outstanding volunteer service
Professional Activities
- Member, Maine State Bar Association
- Member and former Chair, Maine State Bar Association Natural Resources and Environmental Law Section
- Member, New Hampshire Bar Association; Environmental and Natural Resources Law Section
Publications
- Manahan, Matthew and Connors, Catherine. Water, Tribal Claims, and Maine’s Not-So-Settled Settlement Acts, Natural Resources & Environment, ABA Section of Environment, Energy, and Resources, Vol 31, Number 2, Fall 2016.
- Manahan, Matthew. Editor and Co-author of A Practical Guide to Land Use in Maine, MCLE New England (2016).
- Manahan, Matthew. Local Land Use Regulation. Environmental Law in Maine seminar, 2016.
- Manahan, Matthew and Formella, John. Protection of Endangered Species & Bald Eagles. Environmental Law in Maine seminar, 2016.
- Manahan, Matthew and Formella, John. Renewable Energy. Environmental Law in Maine seminar, 2015.
- Day, Avery T.; Doyle, Thomas R.; Manahan, Matthew D. About face: How a mine moved toward opening in Maine, Mining Engineering (2012).
- Manahan, Matthew and Rayback, Brian. Developments in Maine Environmental Law 2011, MSBA Legal Year In Review 2011.
- Manahan, Matthew. Water Rights and Hydropower. Environmental Law in Maine seminar, 2011.
- Manahan, Matthew and Rayback, Brian. Developments in Maine Environmental Law 2010, MSBA Legal Year In Review 2010.
- Manahan, Matthew and Verville, Sarah. Water Quality Certification and Relicensing: Sharing Legal Strategies. Hydro Review Magazine, April 2006.
- Manahan, Matthew and Verville, Sarah. FERC and Dam Decommissioning. Natural Resources and Environment Journal, Winter 2005.
- Manahan, Matthew. When Do Permitted Rights ‘Vest' in Maine?. New England's Environment, August/September 2004.
Civic Activities
- Member, Senator Susan Collins' Advisory Committee on Federal Appointments in Maine, 2016-present
- Treasurer, Senator Susan Collins' Dirgo Leadership PAC, 2015-present
- Member, Governor LePage’s Hydropower Development Advisory Group, 2013-2014
- Member, Town of Cumberland, Maine Board of Adjustment and Appeals, 1999-present
- Member, Bowdoin Alumni Schools and Interviewing Committee
- Member, Cornell Alumni Admissions Ambassador Network
- Campaign Counsel, Steve Abbott for Governor, 2010
- Campaign Counsel, Maine Senator Susan M. Collins, 1994, 1996, 2002, 2008
- Member, City of Portland, Maine Board of Appeals, 1991-1998; Chair, 1995-1998
- Member, City of Portland, Maine Task Force on Regulation, 1997-1998
- Member, Maine Indian Tribal-State Commission, 1994-1996
- Member, Maine Critical Areas Advisory Board, 1991-1992