Great Lakes Law

Standing on the public trust doctrine

The standing doctrine is one of Justice Scalia’s legacies and has become a powerful tool for keeping environmental citizen suits out of court. A recent federal district court decision in Chicago recognizes the public trust doctrine as a basis for granting citizens standing to sue to protect certain natural resources. The following guest post by Austin Probst gives a brief update on this decision. Austin is a Wayne Law student (JD expected ‘17), member of... Read more →

Waukesha Great Lakes water diversion proposal strongly opposed

A proposal by the Wisconsin City of Waukesha to divert Lake Michigan water out of the Great Lakes basin has generated strong opposition from environmental organizations, which have formed a regional coalition on the issue. Michigan Attorney General Bill Schuette has weighed in with a letter expressing his concerns with the proposal. The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and Wayne State’s Transnational Environmental Law Clinic filed a comment letter authored by Charlotte Johnson, and she... Read more →