Great Lakes Law

EPA's Lead and Copper Rule – background and current developments

This post provides a short background on the Lead and Copper Rule and tracks current developments with the Lead and Copper Rule Improvements. Background on Safe Drinking Water Act of 1974 and the 1991 Lead and Copper Rule: In 1974 Congress passed the Safe Drinking Water Act, now codified at 42 U.S.C. 300f et seq. The Safe Drinking Water Act requires the EPA to promulgate drinking water regulations to prevent contamination of public water systems.... Read more →

Flint's Fight for Environmental Rights

My legal essay, Flint’s Fight for Environmental Rights, has been published by the Northwestern University Law Review (117 Nw. U. L. Rev. 123 (2022); free download.) In this essay, I present the Flint Water Crisis as the outcome of both specific state actions and broader failures of environmental law. The story begins chronologically with the role of the State of Michigan, focusing on state decisions from approximately 2011 to 2015 that culminated in the delivery... Read more →

Supreme Court rejects state’s claim of ownership of groundwater, extends equitable apportionment doctrine to disputed Memphis aquifer

The U.S. Supreme Court has rejected Mississippi’s claims of state ownership of groundwater within its territorial boundaries. Mississippi v. Tennessee, 595 U.S. 15 (2021). Chief Justice Roberts authored a unanimous opinion for the Court. The Court rejected state ownership of groundwater and instead, as a matter of first impression, extended the equitable apportionment doctrine for flowing waters and resources to the disputed Memphis aquifer. Over two decades of litigation in federal courts, Mississippi has pressed... Read more →

Supreme Court upholds Clean Water Act regulation of pollution to groundwater but leaves lower courts and the EPA to sort it out

The following guest post is by Martha Hannah, a professional engineer entering her second year at Wayne Law. Prior to law school, Martha worked for fifteen years as an environmental engineer, managing environmental compliance, remediation, and due diligence work for industrial and municipal customers, including state and federal government agencies. Martha graduated magna cum laude from the University of Michigan’s College of Engineering, with a BS in Civil and Environmental Engineering. She shares her analysis... Read more →

Menominee Indian Tribe adopts resolution to recognize the rights of the Menominee River

On January 16, 2020, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin adopted the following resolution to recognize the rights of the Menominee River: MENOMINEE INDIAN TRIBE OF WISCONSIN RESOLUTION NO. 19-52 RECOGNITION OF THE RIGHTS OF THE MENOMINEE RIVER WHEREAS, we, the Menominee people, are indigenous to what is now known as the State of Wisconsin, our place of origin was at the mouth of the Menominee River where the five clans of the Menominee were... Read more →

The Dulcepamba River gets its day in court - rights of nature and Constitutional law in Ecuador

The following guest post is by Great Lakes Environmental Law Center student fellow Shannon Nelson. Shannon is a University of Michigan Law School student and graduate of Wesleyan University. Prior to law school, she was the operations manager for Floating Doctors in Bocas del Toro, Panama. Shannon has led our project in Ecuador, working with local advocates and attorneys to protect the Dulcepamba River and support the people most affected by its destruction. In 2008,... Read more →

Voters Approve Lake Erie Bill of Rights, Polluters Challenge it in Court

On February 26, 2019, voters in Toledo, Ohio overwhelmingly passed the Lake Erie Bill of Rights, fully stated- ESTABLISHING A BILL OF RIGHTS FOR LAKE ERIE, WHICH PROHIBITS ACTIVITIES AND PROJECTS THAT WOULD VIOLATE THE BILL OF RIGHTS We the people of the City of Toledo declare that Lake Erie and the Lake Erie watershed comprise an ecosystem upon which millions of people and countless species depend for health, drinking water and survival. We further... Read more →

Federal appeals court allows Flint residents’ claims against state officials for violation of the constitutional right to bodily integrity

In a win for Flint residents and environmental justice, the federal Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit has ruled that the actions of government – notably MDEQ officials and state-appointed emergency managers – “shocked the conscience” and may violate citizens’ right to bodily integrity as guaranteed by the Due Process Clause of the Constitution’s Fourteenth Amendment. The court’s decision - Guertin v. Michigan, 912 F. 3d 907 (6th Cir. 2019) - reasons that water... Read more →

Indiana Supreme Court protects the public trust in Great Lakes shorelines – property owners petition U.S. Supreme Court for certiorari

The following guest post is by Jeffrey B. Hyman, Senior Staff Attorney with the Conservation Law Center in Bloomington, Indiana. Jeff is counsel for respondent/intervenors Alliance for the Great Lakes and Save the Dunes in the Gunderson v. State of Indiana litigation. Early this year the Indiana Supreme Court delivered a landmark public trust and equal footing decision in Gunderson v. State of Indiana. The Indiana Supreme Court ruled that at statehood, under these doctrines,... Read more →

Supreme Court considers federal interests and powers in interstate water cases

The US Supreme Court issued a pair of opinions this term dealing with the role of the federal government in ongoing interstate water disputes: (1) Texas v. New Mexico and Colorado; and (2) Florida v. Georgia. The cases are before the Court under “original jurisdiction” - they are being heard on first impression rather than on appeal (although they have been reviewed and reported on by appointed Special Masters). Substantively, both cases involve disputes between... Read more →