Great Lakes Law

Addressing urban and agricultural runoff pollution in the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement

Urban and agricultural runoff (known legally as non-point pollution) is the most significant source of pollution in the Great Lakes. As the United States and Canada are considering revisions to the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, addressing runoff pollution should be a top priority. Carrol Hand, a law student at Tulane, worked with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center to develop a white paper on non-point pollution and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement. Carrol... Read more →

New edition of “Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society” now in bookstores

Just in time for the start of the new school year, the new edition of our casebook Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society has been sent to bookstores. I was honored to join Zygmunt J.B. Plater, Robert H. Abrams, Robert L. Graham, Lisa Heinzerling, and David A. Wirth in co-authoring the 4th edition of this leading environmental law book, published by Aspen. Environmental Law and Policy: Nature, Law, and Society offers a unique... Read more →

Scenes from the Enbridge Kalamazoo River oil spill clean up

I just got back from visiting the oil spill site in Marshall, Michigan. Even after several hard rains, the Kalamazoo River’s banks are still covered in oil, and the smell hangs in the air. I’m not much of a photographer, and I’m sorry that the pictures I took don’t really show the full extent of the disaster, but take a look: http://www.greatlakeslaw.org/photos/enbridge_spill_8_4_2010/. Read more →

Great Lakes Environmental Law Center sends notice of intent to sue Enbridge over pipeline oil spill

The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center has sent a notice of intent to sue Enbridge, Inc. for violations of the Clean Water Act resulting from the burst pipeline that has spilled approximately one million gallons of oil into Talmadge Creek and the Kalamazoo River. The Clean Water Act requires this formal 60-day notice prior to commencing a citizen suit to enforce violations of the law. As detailed in the 60-day notice letter, based on the... Read more →