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 →

A critical look at Michigan’s coastal sand dune law

Coastal sand dunes are one of Michigan’s most treasured resources. In 1994, the state enacted legislation regulating land use on sand dunes. The legislature intended to balance competing public and private interests over the resource. The Sand Dune Protection and Management Act (SDPMA) was extensively amended in August 2012. As amended, local governments have a significantly diminished role in determining land use on sand dunes within their borders. Suzanne Sutherland is an attorney with Hilger... Read more →

Transnational Environmental Law Clinic Comments on Proposed Wastewater Treatment Plant

The following student post is by David Furman (B.S. Accounting, Oakland University, J.D., Wayne State University Law School, expected 2015). While in law school, David has clerked at a mid-sized law firm and is currently employed in the regulatory department of an international electrical transmission corporation. David is working as a student attorney this semester in the Transnational Environmental Law Cling. Also, special thanks to former Clinic student Andew Gonyea who worked on this project... Read more →

Federal district court rejects EPA rule exempting water transfers from Clean Water Act regulation

The following student post is by Collin Gannon (B.A., University of Pittsburgh; J.D., University of Michigan Law School, expected 2015). While in law school, Collin has worked at the Utton Transboundary Resources Center and the New Mexico Supreme Court. A federal district court in New York has vacated and remanded EPA’s controversial “Water Transfers Rule.” In Catskill Mountains Chapter of Trout Unlimited v. EPA (“Catskills II”) (S.D.N.Y., Mar. 28, 2014), Judge Kenneth Karas rejected the... Read more →

Addressing the Great Lakes Prescription Drug Problem

The following student post is by Karinne Marcolini (B.A., Michigan State University; J.D., Wayne State University Law School, expected 2015). While in law school, Karinne has worked at the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan and the Crisis Centre in Nassau, Bahamas. Prescription drug pollution in surface and groundwater is a growing economic and health concern. A recent study, Protecting the Great Lakes from Pharmaceutical Pollution, demonstrated that prescription drug pollution was... Read more →

Indiana Trial Court Finds No Taking in Long Beach High Watermark Resolution

In West v. Town of Long Beach, an Indiana trial court held that a local government resolution describing the ordinary high water mark and its property implications for Lake Michigan shoreline owners did not constitute a taking. Long Beach Resolution 12-003 was passed in response to the Indiana Department of Natural Resources’ 2012 statement that stated, “The ordinary high water mark is the line on Lake Michigan and other navigable waterways used to designate where... Read more →

Gulf of Mexico “dead zone” litigation sets new precedent for compelling EPA action to address nutrient pollution

Environmental groups have won a significant legal victory to compel the U.S. EPA to take action in response to the Gulf of Mexico “dead zone,” caused by nitrogen and phosphorus pollution in the Mississippi River. In Gulf Restoration Network v. Jackson, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Louisiana held that the EPA must make a “necessity determination” regarding water quality standards under the Clean Water Act in response to a petition for... Read more →

Michigan’s first sanctioned wolf hunt opens this month surrounded by controversy

The following student post is by Nicholas McIntyre (B.A., Oakland University; J.D., Wayne State University Law School, expected 2014). While in law school, Nick has interned at the U.S. Justice Department (Community Relations Service) and the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Michigan. Over the past 30 years, Michigan’s wolf population has recovered dramatically, from three known wolves in 1989 to a current population of 658. See Rationale and Basis of Natural Resources... Read more →

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 →

Wisconsin Supreme Court Limits Scope of Public Trust Doctrine

The following student post is by Kyle M. Peczynski (B.A., University of Michigan; J.D., Wayne State University Law School, expected 2014). While in law school, Kyle has worked at the US EPA and Wayne Law’s Transnational Environmental Law Clinic. The Wisconsin Supreme Court in July limited the scope of the state’s public trust doctrine when it rejected the state Department of Natural Resources’ reasoning used in support of a water level regulation for Lake Koshkonong.... Read more →