Great Lakes Law

Introducing the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center 2015-16 Fellows

Law students and new attorneys are the future of environmental law. We have formalized the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center fellowship program this year, and have four spectacular individuals working with us in 2015-16: Joe Regalia is a postgraduate Research Fellow, currently clerking for Judge Jay Bybee of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit. He graduated summa cum laude from the University of Michigan Law School in 2013 earning the Daniel Grady... Read more →

Symposium on the Public Trust Doctrine and the Great Lakes in Detroit this Friday, October 16

The University of Detroit Mercy Law Review is hosting a symposium entitled, "The Public Trust Doctrine: An Ancient Tool for Protecting the Great Lakes from New Hazards," this Friday, October 16. Some of the leading voices on the public trust doctrine will be giving presentations, including Prof. Jim Huffman of Lewis & Clark (author of Speaking of Inconvenient Truths — A History of the Public Trust Doctrine) and Prof. Melissa Scanlan of Vermont Law (author... Read more →

Federal appeals court blocks the Clean Water Rule, dealing a major blow to the agencies’ attempt to clarify federal jurisdiction over waters and wetlands

The Clean Water Rule (also called the Waters of the United States, or WOTUS rule) was promulgated earlier this summer by the US EPA and Army Corps of Engineers to clarify federal jurisdiction over waters and wetlands in the wake of the Supreme Court’s 2006 Rapanos decision. For a detailed background on the Clean Water/WOTUS Rule and the regulatory and litigation history behind it, please refer to this paper by Maureen O'Sullivan, Wayne Law ’16,... Read more →

Federal court rejects weak EPA general permit for ballast water pollution, agency must do a better job protecting Great Lakes from invasive species

The EPA’s Vessel General Permit for discharging ballast water has been rejected by a federal appeals court (opinion here) for failing to adequately protect the Great Lakes and other waters from invasive species. Ballast water discharges are subject to the federal Clean Water Act and the EPA’s prior rule exempting this source of pollution from regulation was previously struck down in Nw. Envtl. Advocates v. EPA, 537 F.3d 1006 (9th Cir. 2008). The EPA issued... Read more →

Petcoke on the Detroit River – a tar sands byproduct threatens local public health and Great Lakes water

In the early spring of 2012, a black pile three stories high and as large as many of the surrounding buildings appeared along the shores of the Detroit River. This pile was made up of petroleum coke, or “petcoke,” a byproduct created by the process of transforming heavy tar sands oil into useable fuel. While petcoke is not traditionally burned in the United States, competitive markets exist for petcoke in the developing world. This pile’s... Read more →