Chris Nelson Email & Phone Number

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

• Maintained responsibilities of US-focused role while guiding team to broader engagement and leadership on global compliance matters.

Greater Minneapolis-St. Paul Area

• Led team of twenty-three 3M scientists working on multimedia environmental permitting and regulatory projects for more than sixty 3M facilities in the United States.• Managed consultant work on permits, regulation applicability, and special projects. Role included owning strategy, scopes of work, and a multimillion-dollar budget.• Supported internal programs to connect regulatory requirements to facility operations and drive compliance activities, including management of change and external regulatory change.• Set strategy and guide implementation on compliance discussions with regulatory agencies, cooperating with site teams, legal affairs, and government affairs.• Collaborated with external industry associations and other partners on policy advocacy at various levels of government.• Strategically led deployment and use of compliance data systems to standardize compliance processes and add traceability to regulatory determinations.• Guided implementation of 3M environmental management standards for facilities in the US, including collaboration across EHS, operations, and engineering.

St. Paul, Minnesota

• Collaborated with business and engineering teams on projects and regulatory approvals for growth, operational flexibility, and compliance. Projects included flexible permit conditions and innovative approaches to compliance.• Managed external relationships with government, peer companies, and non-profits to support 3M strategies and projects.• Cooperated with regulatory agencies on resolution of environmental permitting issues in twelve US states.• Supervised eight engineers and scientists working on multimedia environmental permitting, regulatory projects, and internal standards for global 3M facilities.• Coordinated aspects of 3M management standard development and external regulatory evolution related to climate change.• Provided auditing and environmental technical support for facilities in thirteen countries in Asia, Europe, North and South America.• Served on 3M’s Energy Team, which coordinated related activities, including renewable energy use and energy efficiency.• Supported 3M sustainability reporting, goal development, and greenhouse gas reporting.

St. Paul, Minnesota

• Acted as corporate environmental contact for divisions with thirteen US facilities, collaborating across the company to resolve multimedia environmental and regulatory issues.• Reviewed potential facility projects for environmental impact and regulatory applicability, ensuring compliance and maximizing operational flexibility.• Led 3M Pollution Prevention Pays program, coordinating with global facilities and recognizing efforts to reduce pollution and costs.

St. Paul, Mn

• Managed work of twenty professional personnel working on high profile, technically complex industrial projects, leading to permit and environmental review approvals, successful program implementation, and compliance with relevant regulations.• Selected to manage agency-wide strategic program development for new air quality regulations affecting regulated facilities across Minnesota.• Served as Director of Legislative Affairs during gubernatorial transition. Worked with Governor’s office staff and legislators on agency programs and initiatives.• Hired six engineers and technical staff to work on priority permitting projects; managed performance related to project outcomes. • Formulated policy and strategy recommendations on key issues for Commissioner’s Office, based on consultation with stakeholders.• Participated in agency management teams that set high level agency policies related to human resources and energy, made risk management decisions, and allocated financial resources for agency with $180 million annual budget.• Led negotiations on agreement with Fortune 500 company that will result in more than $50 million in expenditures to reduce key air emissions by thousands of tons annually, resolving a 20-year old legal dispute. Negotiations included three federal agencies, a law firm, and four non-governmental organizations.• Organized and led meetings with proposers of biofuels, mining, and other projects, to communicate expectations and understand technical details in order to facilitate priority permit work.

St. Paul, Mn

• Presented details of air permit for construction of $1.6 billion manufacturing facility to MPCA Citizens’ Board, leading to unanimous approval of permit issuance.• Worked with industrial representatives, state and federal government officials, Tribal government representatives, and citizens on multimedia permitting and environmental review documents for the Mining Sector.• Coordinated policy and technical decisions with Agency leadership, staff, and external parties to ensure that priority projects moved forward. • Reviewed and approved air dispersion modeling studies associated with air quality permits, environmental review, and risk assessments, including priority projects for electric utilities, petroleum refineries, ethanol plants, manufacturing facilities, and metallic mining facilities.• Wrote air dispersion modeling guidance and led training for consultants, reflecting state and federal air quality laws, regulations, and policy.• Coordinated policy development and technical review of modeling data with state and federal agencies.• Led staff teams charged with furthering knowledge of air toxics issues in Minnesota, sharing technical activities and policy among agency staff, and scheduling educational speakers in the environmental field.• Publicly presented technical information to state agencies, consultants, local and international conferences, and neighborhood groups.• Co-authored MPCA Environmental Information Report, a document that summarized multimedia environmental stressors and trends for agency leadership.