Great Lakes Law

Nutrient pollution costs the country at least $4 billion a year

Nutrient pollution, which causes unhealthy levels of nitrogen and phosphorus in lakes and rivers (as well as the dead zones in coastal areas), is one of the most widespread but least addressed water protection issues. While the federal Clean Water Act regulates point sources (wastewater treatment plants, industrial sources, etc.) for nutrient pollution, most of it comes from unregulated nonpoint sources, namely agricultural fertilizer runoff. This is a terrible problem for the health of our... Read more →

Federal appeals court upholds Michigan ballast water law, allows states to take action to stop the spread of invasive species in the Great Lakes

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit just issued a decision upholding Michigan’s ballast water statute and rejecting the shippers’ federal preemption and Constitutional challenges. The Michigan law, which took effect in January 2007, requires ships to obtain a state permit and, if the ships will discharge ballast water, to use specified technologies to prevent the introduction of invasive species into the Great Lakes. Several shipping companies, ports, and industry groups sued the... Read more →

Congressman John Dingell ousted as chair of House Energy and Commerce Committee

In a political shake-up that could have huge implications for environmental and energy policy reform, Representative Henry Waxman of California has replaced Representative John Dingell of Michigan as chair of the House Energy and Commerce Committee. Congressman Dingell (whose district includes my home in Ann Arbor as well as many auto industry towns in southeastern Michigan) is the longest serving member of the House, first elected in 1955. While Dingell has been a strong leader... Read more →

Regulatory action needed now to stop the spread of VHS into Lake Superior

A new map (click here to open it, sorry I can't display it in this post), produced by Geoff Maas of the Minnesota Center for Environmental Advocacy, makes frighteningly clear why we need immediate action to stop the unregulated discharge of ballast water from spreading invasive species in the Great Lakes. Since 2003, the invasive fish disease Viral Hemorrhagic Septicemia (VHS) has spread through four of the five Great Lakes, with only Lake Superior still... Read more →

FLOW the movie and the fear of water privatization

The documentary movie FLOW (“For Love of Water”) has finally come to Michigan after showing in some other select locations around the country for the past few months. I was very excited to see the film, not just because of its subject matter, but also because of the numerous awards and prizes it has received. While the film presents some important issues, I found that it contains several factual errors and is generally off-target in... Read more →

Environmental priorities for the Obama administration – seeing the forest and the trees

President-elect Barack Obama is hitting the ground running and not wasting any time in preparing to govern the country through what is certain to be one of the most challenging and critical periods in our history. Environmental and energy policy issues are near the top of his to-do list, especially through using clean energy and infrastructure investment to fuel economic recovery. There is an overwhelming amount of advice (and would-be advisors) vying for President-elect Obama’s... Read more →

Eighth Annual Great Lakes Water Conference at University of Toledo College of Law

Since 2001, the University of Toledo College of Law has hosted an annual Great Lakes Water Conference that brings together leading academics, policy makers, and legal practitioners to explore the range of legal issues facing the Great Lakes. I almost always make the trip down to Toledo for the conference, as it has become a reliably useful and productive forum to debate issues and exchange ideas. The strong tradition has continued since Professor Ken Kilbert... Read more →

Election 2008 – Great Results for the Great Lakes

I’m finally recovering from a 17-hour day co-chairing a local polling precinct at a University of Michigan student dorm. Despite the long day, it was one of the most rewarding civic activities I’ve ever participated in, especially since over 90% of the precinct’s registered voters (almost all students registered for the first time) turned out to vote. Fantastic voter participation from a demographic that too often gets ignored, even in a college town like Ann... Read more →

Water issues on the ballot in Ohio and Minnesota

Two Great Lakes states, Ohio and Minnesota, have state Constitutional amendments on the ballot important to water rights and water protection. In Ohio, ballot issue #3 would amend the state Constitution to protect private groundwater rights while still allowing state regulation of groundwater use. The proposed amendment was pushed by State Senator Tim Grendell as part of the deal to approve the Great Lakes compact over the summer. I covered the proposed amendment in a... Read more →