Great Lakes Law

Enforcing the federal Clean Water Act in state proceedings – guest post by Melissa Scanlan

The following guest post is by Melissa Scanlan, one of the leading public interest environmental attorneys in the Midwest. After graduating from the University of California-Berkeley in 1999, Melissa returned to her native Wisconsin and founded Midwest Environmental Advocates, which she led as Executive Director for almost a decade. In June of this year Melissa started a new environmental consulting firm where she is teaching, writing, and promoting social enterprises engaged in water policy, sustainability,... Read more →

Wisconsin develops innovative rules to control phosphorous pollution

The state of Wisconsin, with significant contributions by stakeholders, has developed a package of innovate new rules to control phosphorous pollution from point and nonpoint (runoff) sources. Attorney Bill Davis of the Environmental Law and Policy Center played a key role in developing and advancing these rules through the administrative process. Bill is ELPC’s Clean Water Program Manager, working out of their Madison, Wisconsin office. I’ve known Bill for over ten years, as he previously... 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 →

Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and NRDC file petition to close loophole on pharmaceutical drugs in drinking water

Pharmaceutical drugs in drinking water are a growing concern for both aquatic and human health. Water samples from the Great Lakes and other waterbodies often reveal potentially harmful levels of many drugs, including antibiotics, steroids and other hormones, cancer therapies, lipid regulators and anti-inflammatory drugs. These drugs may get into our water supply from direct disposal or through human waste, since the body does not fully break down all drugs taken in. Unfortunately, our wastewater... Read more →

The BP Gulf blowout - environmental law and political posturing

I’ll be on FOX Business Network today discussing the likely legal actions in the BP Gulf oil blowout and providing some commentary on the political response from Washington (to view video, cleck here). Earlier this week, U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder announced that the federal government has launched civil and criminal investigations (see this coverage from the Wall Street Journal with my reaction), but the Attorney General was frustratingly vague on specifics. Here’s my short... Read more →

Great Lakes Environmental Law Center and other conservation organizations join with Manitoba and Canada in opposing U.S. water diversion project in court

The Great Lakes Environmental Law Center has filed an amicus curiae (friend of the court) brief in the U.S. District Court for Washington D.C. in Government of the Province of Manitoba v. Ken Salazar, et al. The case involves a challenge by Manitoba, joined by Canada and several conservation organizations, to the U.S. Bureau of Reclamation’s Environmental Impact Statement for the Northwest Area Water Supply (NAWS) Project. The NAWS Project is the first United States... Read more →

Supreme Court rules that mining waste can be dumped into waterbodies as “fill” under the Clean Water Act

In its second Clean Water Act case of the term, the U.S. Supreme Court has ruled that the mining waste can be dumped into waterbodies as “fill” under the Clean Water Act. The mining company, Coeur Alaska, sought permission to dispose of waste from its Kensington Gold Mine into nearby Lower Slate Lake as “fill” and not “pollution” under the Clean Water Act. Thus, the company claimed that discharge of the mining waste was only... Read more →

Federal appeals court upholds EPA rule exempting water transfers from Clean Water Act regulation

The Eleventh Circuit Court of Appeals, based in Atlanta, has upheld the Bush EPA’s controversial water transfer rule, which would allow polluted water from a dirty waterbody to be pumped and dumped into a pristine waterbody without a Clean Water Act permit. This is a critically important issue for water quality and invasive species in the Great Lakes and nationally. For background on the issue, and the stakes for our lakes, rivers, and streams, see... Read more →

US Supreme Court allows EPA to consider costs and benefits for power plant water intake regulations

Last week, the U.S. Supreme Court upheld EPA regulations for power plant water intakes under the Clean Water Act in Entergy v. Riverkeeper. The legal issue in the case was whether the EPA has the administrative discretion to consider the relative costs and benefits of different control technologies under section 316(b) of the Clean Water Act. I know this sounds terribly boring, but it’s a hugely important issue for both aquatic ecology and regulatory policy.... Read more →