Great Lakes Law

Michigan court allows claims against the state for violating Constitutional rights to bodily injury from the Flint water crisis to go forward

In one of the first court decisions on the Flint water crisis, Mays v. Snyder, the Michigan Court of Claims has ruled that a major class action based on the state’s alleged violation of individual rights to bodily integrity under substantive due process can proceed. The court’s opinion begins with a detailed factual background based on allegations which would give rise to valid claims against the state for causing the Flint water crisis and state... Read more →

Supreme Court allows review of federal wetland jurisdictional determinations before permitting

Earlier this summer, in United States Army Corps of Engineers v. Hawkes Co., Inc., 136 S.Ct. 1807 (2016), the United States Supreme Court unanimously held that an approved jurisdictional determination made by the United States Army Corps of Engineers under the Clean Water Act is a “final agency action” subject to immediate judicial review under the Administrative Procedure Act. The case gives property owners a more timely chance to challenge federal wetland protection measures on... Read more →

Great Lakes Environmental Law Center adds two new attorneys

I am very excited to share news that two superb attorneys have joined us at the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. Oday Salim, most recently Senior Attorney at Fair Shake Environmental Legal Services, brings the same title to GLELC. Oday was previously a Staff Attorney at the University of Pittsburgh School of Law’s Environmental Law Clinic. Oday is a Wayne Law graduate and was one of my best students. After earning his J.D., he continued... Read more →

Attorney General Bill Schuette on behalf of the People of the State of Michigan v. Veolia North America, Inc. et al. – Pleadings

Attorney General Bill Schuette, on behalf of the People of the State of Michigan, has filed a civil action against Veolia North America, Inc., Veolia North America, LLC, Veolia Water North America Operating Services, LLC, and Veolia Environnement, S.A. (collectively known as Veolia) and Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, P.C., Lockwood, Andrews & Newnam, Inc., and Leo A. Daly Company (collectively known as LAN) for their roles in the events known as the Flint Water Crisis,... Read more →

The Flint Water Crisis, KWA and Strategic-Structural Racism – Guest post by Professor Peter Hammer

The following guest post is by my colleague Professor Peter Hammer, Director of the Damon J. Keith Center for Civil Rights at Wayne Law. In his testimony before the Michigan Civil Rights Commission last week, Professor Hammer offers an explanation of the causes and methods behind the Flint water crisis that goes far deeper than the standard account. (The Flint Water Crisis, KWA and Strategic-Structural Racism is also available on SSRN.) He explains why and... Read more →

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 →

The Refined State: Tar Sands, Pet Coke, and the Front Lines of Great Lakes Oil Cities

The Freshwater Lab, a program of the Institute for the Humanities at the University of Illinois at Chicago, has hosted a year-long series exploring the oil-water mix in the Great Lakes. Next Tuesday, April 19, is the final event, titled The Refined State: Tar Sands, Pet Coke, and the Front Lines of Great Lakes Oil Cities. I’m very excited to be presenting (thanks Rachel Havrelock for organizing and inviting me) and will discuss our region’s... 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 →

Appointment as Special Assistant Attorney General for the Flint water investigation

I've been appointed Special Assistant Attorney General for Michigan, joining the Special Counsel team for the Flint water investigation. The team is led by Todd Flood, a tenacious and experienced former prosecutor with a superb record of jury trials. Andrew Arena, the former director of the Detroit FBI office, has also been appointed to the investigation team. The appointment of the Special Counsel team to investigate and potentially prosecute is necessary because the Michigan Attorney... Read more →

On the Supreme Court’s docket – Mississippi v. Tennessee, the first interstate groundwater case

What’s the biggest news story about the Supreme Court and environmental law? Justice Scalia’s passing and the hot list of potential replacements? The Court’s unprecedented stay of President Obama’s Clean Power Plan? Or the grant of leave to hear Mississippi v. Tennessee, the first ever interstate groundwater case? If you picked the last one, you’re reading the right blog post. Admittedly it’s not the hot news item for environmental lawyers and Supreme Court spectators. But... Read more →

Litigating the Flint water crisis – an overview of the lawsuits and legal action

Lawsuits have started over the Flint water crisis, with several prominent public interest organizations and law firms filing complaints in federal and state courts. This post provides an overview of the lawsuits filed, and I expect to update it as more come in. As we’ve seen in other major environmental disasters, the legal action is coming from three directions, pretty much following the textbook, but with a few wrinkles: Class actions and torts, coupled with... Read more →

The Flint drinking water crisis - first thoughts and a legal overview

The Flint drinking water crisis is a nightmare for the families and children affected. As the father of school-aged children, my heart breaks for the parents that were betrayed by the system that was supposed to protect their kids but instead put them at unconscionable risk. Giving the kids a bath, pouring them a glass of water, and taking them to school are the daily activities a parent should take for granted as safe. But... Read more →

The Volkswagen scandal and environmental law – guest post by Karinne Marcolini

The following guest post on the Volkswagen scandal is by Karinne Marcolini, an associate at Goren, Goren & Harris. Karinne is a recent graduate of Wayne Law, where she was president of the Environmental Law Society. While in law school, Karinne worked for the US EPA’s Gasoline Engine Compliance Center in Ann Arbor. She served in the compliance division, applying the Clean Air Act’s mobile-source regulations for vehicles, and thus has significant experience and expertise... Read more →