Great Lakes Law

An educational resource for water law in the Great Lakes region

  • Home
  • About
  • Topics
  • Publications
  • Resources

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes

The Death and Life of the Great Lakes is the boldly titled new book from Dan Egan, science reporter extraordinaire at the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Egan’s focus is squarely on invasive species and it shapes the book’s outlook on the health and future of the Great Lakes. He could have retold the story of clear-cutting and overfishing, industrial pollution and rivers on fire, which thanks to public outcry and the environmental laws of 1970s, is... Read more →

Posted in Invasive Species | Permalink

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 →

Posted in Clean Water Act and Water Quality, Invasive Species | Permalink

Federal court rejects National Wildlife Federation’s challenge to EPA Vessel General Permit regulating ballast water discharges

In 2012, the US EPA proposed a Vessel General Permit to regulate ballast water discharges pursuant to the Clean Water Act. Ballast water from other regions is a significant source of invasive species in the Great Lakes. Numerous environmental organizations commented on the permit proposal, generally criticizing it for using too weak a standard, exempting a large category of vessels, and not requiring compliance for several years (see this prior post). After the EPA finalized... Read more →

Posted in Clean Water Act and Water Quality, Invasive Species, Students | Permalink

Federal district court dismisses states’ lawsuit seeking hydrologic separation of the Great Lakes and Mississippi River Basin to stop invasive Asian carp; states appeal

The Great Lakes states have lost another round in the legal fight to stop the spread of invasive Asian carp from the Mississippi River Basin. A federal district court has dismissed the suit brought by Michigan, Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania against the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Chicago’s Metropolitan Water Reclamation District, seeking measures to prevent Asian carp from moving through the Chicago Area Waterway System into Lake Michigan. (Michigan v. U.S. Army... Read more →

Posted in Invasive Species | Permalink

Asian carp and the US Constitution

I had the chance to spend a morning on the Illinois River at Havana with a PBS film crew shooting a new series on the Constitution hosted by Peter Sagal. They came to see and film the Asian carp, which have taken over this stretch of the Illinois River and could make their way into Lake Michigan. If the Asian carp get into the Great Lakes, it will be an ecological disaster caused by a... Read more →

Posted in Invasive Species | Permalink

EPA ballast water proposal fails to protect the Great Lakes from invasive species – guest post by Nick Schroeck

The US EPA has proposed a Vessel General Permit to address ballast water discharges, a significant source of invasive species in the Great Lakes. The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and other conservation organizations filed formal comments last week criticizing the EPA’s proposal as inadequate to prevent the introduction and spread of invasive species in the region. Executive Director Nick Schroeck provides some insight on the issue in this guest post (with special thanks to... Read more →

Posted in Clean Water Act and Water Quality, Invasive Species | Permalink

Federal appeals court denies states’ request to order immediate measures to stop spread of Asian carp, but leaves open the possibility of future court action if the federal government doesn’t address the crisis

Last week, a federal court of appeals panel upheld a district court order denying the request of Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin to issue a preliminary injunction compelling the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Chicago’s Municipal Water Reclamation District to close the locks on the Chicago Area Waterway System to prevent the spread of Asian carp into Lake Michigan (for background on the district court ruling, see this prior post). While the... Read more →

Posted in Invasive Species | Permalink

International Joint Commission releases Report on Great Lakes Water Quality, announces next Great Lakes Biennial Meeting at Wayne State University

At a public event yesterday at Wayne State University, the International Joint Commission released its 15th Biennial Report on Great Lakes Water Quality. In its report, the IJC detailed 32 recommendations for action at the federal, state, provincial and local levels of government. (The full report and executive summary are available online.) Most notably, the recommendations focus on the need for the U.S. and Canada to approve a revised Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement to... Read more →

Posted in Canada and Transboundary Waters, Clean Water Act and Water Quality, Invasive Species | Permalink

Another setback in the legal fight to keep Asian carp out of the Great Lakes

Late last week, in a 61-page opinion, U.S. District Judge Robert Dow denied the request of Michigan, Minnesota, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin to issue a preliminary injunction compelling the United States Army Corps of Engineers and Chicago’s Municipal Water Reclamation District to close the locks on the Chicago Area Waterway System to prevent the spread of Asian carp into Lake Michigan. The states’ complaint alleged that U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Metropolitan Water Reclamation... Read more →

Posted in Invasive Species | Permalink

Federal district court considers Asian carp case and arguments for temporary closure of Chicago canal locks - guest post by Thom Cmar

As this is being posted, a federal district court in Chicago is hearing arguments by Michigan and four other Great Lakes states to compel the temporary closure of Chicago canal locks to stop the spread of invasive Asian carp. Michigan and the other states (Wisconsin, Minnesota, Ohio, and Pennsylvania) argue that the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Metropolitan Water Reclamation District of Greater Chicago have created a public nuisance by allowing Asian carp to... Read more →

Posted in Canada and Transboundary Waters, Invasive Species | Permalink

More Posts »
GreatLakessmall

Categories

  • Canada and Transboundary Waters (55)
  • Clean Water Act and Water Quality (64)
  • Climate Change (59)
  • Detroit (17)
  • Energy (50)
  • Environmental Justice (29)
  • Environmental Rights (5)
  • Flint Water Crisis (15)
  • Great Lakes Compact (41)
  • Great Lakes Restoration (21)
  • Invasive Species (45)
  • Politics (30)
  • Public Trust (3)
  • Students (24)
  • Transportation and Transit (12)
  • Water and Economic Development (16)
  • Water Law Reform (53)
  • Water Marketing (23)
  • Wetlands (10)
See More

Resources

  • About Great Lakes Law
  • Climate Change Litigation Databases
  • Flint Water Crisis Litigation
  • Great Lakes Environmental Law Center
  • Law and the Environment - Insights from the East Coast
  • Legal Planet - Insights from the West Coast
  • Publications by Noah Hall
  • Wayne Law Faculty Page
  • Wayne State University Library Great Lakes Water Law Research Guide

Search Great Lakes Law with Google

  • Google

    WWW
    greatlakeslaw.org