Great Lakes Law

Wetland Mitigation in Michigan: Working Toward the Goal of No Net Loss of Wetlands

The new issue of the Michigan Environmental Law Journal includes a superb essay by Wayne Law student Nathan Inks, “Wetland Mitigation in Michigan: Working Toward the Goal of No Net Loss of Wetlands.” Michigan has a unique federal-state law regime for wetland regulation, including a partial delegation of the CWA section 404 permitting program to the state. Nathan’s essay was selected for publication as the first place award winning entry in the annual student writing... 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 →

Students working in Wayne Law’s Transnational Environmental Law Clinic challenging massive highway expansion in midtown Detroit

The following student post is by Patrick Tully (B.A., University of Massachusetts; J.D., Wayne State University Law School, expected 2014). While in law school, Patrick received a Wayne Law public interest fellowship to work with Massachusetts Department of Conservation, Office of the General Counsel. He also interned at the Michigan Court of Appeals and worked a large Michigan law firm, where he will be returning to practice this fall. Patrick was one of the Wayne... 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 →

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy keynoting Michigan Law conference on public health and environmental law

EPA Administrator Gina McCarthy will be in Ann Arbor this Thursday, September 26 to give the opening keynote for the Environmental Law and Public Health Conference at the University of Michigan. The conference is sponsored by Michigan Law's Environmental Law and Policy Program and Environmental Law Society. The conference will explore the relationship between environmental protection and public health, with panels focusing on children’s health, industrial siting, and urban agriculture. Conference proceedings will be available... Read more →

Ontario’s Great Lakes Protection Act

The Great Lakes Protection Act was recently introduced in Ontario (Bill 100, 1st Sess., 40th Leg.). The Act, administered by the Minister of the Environment, would help to identify areas of concern that may adversely affect the ecological health of the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin, and establish and prioritize objectives. In that regard, the Act focuses on incorporating public involvement and collaboration with the Government of Ontario. These cooperative efforts would be accomplished primarily... Read more →