Great Lakes Law

Ohio Senate approves joint resolution to put constitutional amendment on groundwater rights before the voters

The Ohio Senate voted unanimously to approve Senate Joint Resolution 8, sponsored by State Senator Tim Grendell. The joint resolution, which the House must also approve with at least a three-fifths majority vote, would amend Ohio’s constitution to protect private groundwater rights while still allowing state regulation of groundwater use. It would enact a new section 19b of Article I of the Ohio Constitution as follows: (A) The protection of the rights of Ohio's property... Read more →

Great Lakes compact legislation signed in Wisconsin; progress in Ohio and Michigan

Wisconsin became the fifth Great Lakes state to approve the Great Lakes compact when Gov. Jim Doyle signed the compact legislation (which also includes other reforms to Wisconsin water law) on May 27. The Ohio Senate appears ready to finally pass the compact (which the Ohio House has already done twice) after unanimously voting to put Sen. Grendell’s constitutional amendment to protect private groundwater rights on the November ballot. Tom Henry of the Toledo Blade... Read more →

Wear your love of the Great Lakes on your chest

Do you sometimes struggle to find the perfect shirt to wear to work? Do you want to tell the world that you love the Great Lakes without saying a word? Have you finally worn out your favorite t-shirt, and need something new in your wardrobe? Luckily for you, Dan Wendt of the Great Lakes Country website and news service is offering a simple solution to any of these problems. He is selling his custom designed... Read more →

The U.S. EPA extends public comment period on its National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Office of Water has extended the public comment period on its draft National Water Program Strategy: Response to Climate Change until June 10. The Draft Strategy represents the National Water Program’s initial effort to identify potential impacts of climate change for clean water and drinking water programs and define actions to respond to these impacts. I was initially skeptical of this effort, launched by Assistant Administrator for Water Ben Grumbles... Read more →

Turning empty shipping containers into campus condos in Detroit

Like ballast water with aquatic invasive species, discarded empty shipping containers are an unintended environmental impact of shipping (which overall is a relatively efficient way to transport goods). Hundreds of thousands of used empty shipping containers are piling up in ports around the Great Lakes and elsewhere. But a Detroit architect has a proposal to turn these empty shipping containers into a condo development in Detroit, near the Wayne State University campus. According to an... Read more →

Sam Speck’s appointment to the International Joint Commission confirmed by the U.S. Senate

Sam Speck’s appointment to the International Joint Commission (IJC) has just been confirmed by the U.S. Senate. The IJC implements the U.S.-Canada Boundary Waters Treaty of 1909. The treaty prohibits the pollution, use, or diversion of boundary waters (including the Great Lakes) without the approval of the IJC, subject to numerous qualifications. Obviously both countries routinely pollute, use, and divert boundary waters, but the treaty and IJC nonetheless provide an international legal framework for transboundary... Read more →

Wisconsin legislature set to approve Great Lakes compact and make major changes to state water law

The Wisconsin legislature, back in a special session, appears ready to approve the Great Lakes compact as part of a major overhaul of the state’s water law. In addition to approving the Great Lakes compact, other key provisions of the massive bill (it’s over a hundred pages) include: establishing a statewide water supply planning process for public water supply systems requiring all water withdrawals in the state over 100,000 gallons per day (gpd) to register... Read more →

Constitutional amendment to protect property rights in groundwater proposed in Ohio

Ohio State Senator Tim Grendell has been the leading opponent of the proposed Great Lakes compact, arguing that the compact would lead to a “taking” of private groundwater rights by extending the public trust doctrine to groundwater. While Senator Grendell’s arguments have little legal merit, he has been able to stop the compact from passing in Ohio, despite overwhelming bipartisan support. About a month ago, Senator Grendell announced on an Ohio public radio show that... Read more →

Sorry Madonna, but I am a Riparian Girl

One my water law students, Laura Colangelo, wrote these lyrics for Riparian Girl and they’re too good and too funny to not share with the world (or at least the few people in the world with the good taste to read this blog). Madonna might appreciate this ode to riparianism, since she was born and raised in Michigan (mostly the Detroit suburbs) and even attended the University of Michigan for a few years. So, with... Read more →

Another lawsuit to stop ballast water discharges from spreading invasive species in the Great Lakes

Several conservation organizations have filed a lawsuit to stop the imminent threat of the invasive fish disease Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) from spreading into Lake Superior from ballast water discharges (Download vhs_complaint.pdf). Save Lake Superior Association, the Izaak Walton League, Duluth Minnesota Chapter, the Minnesota Council of Trout Unlimited, and Wisconsin Trout Unlimited are suing the U.S. Coast Guard (part of the U.S. Department of Homeland Security) and the Animal and Plant Health Inspection Service... Read more →

Is desalination the solution to our water problems? Maybe, according to a new report from the National Research Council.

Desalination is often touted as potential technological solution to our water problems. Most of the earth’s water is salty, and with growing populations in coastal areas around the world, turning seawater into drinking water has tremendous appeal. However, desalination is costly and energy intensive, and also produces tremendous environmental impacts from huge water intakes and disposal of the left over salty sludge. A recent report on desalination from the National Research Council (an arm of... Read more →