Great Lakes Law

Framing Water Policy in a Carbon Affected and Carbon Constrained Environment

With Prof. Robert Abrams, I’ve published a new article that focuses on the challenges for water management as climate change affects water resources and climate change mitigation policy affects water allocation decisions. The article, “Framing Water Policy in a Carbon Affected and Carbon Constrained Environment”, was published in a special Fiftieth Anniversary edition of the Natural Resources Journal (citation - 50 Natural Resources Journal 3 (2010)). Here’s the abstract, and the full article is available... 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 →

The PACE has stopped - federal agency makes short-sighted decision to halt common sense clean energy policy

Guest post by Eric Jamison, Clean Energy Fellow with the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center. The Federal Housing Finance Agency (FHFA) just halted residential PACE programs around the country by issuing a letter stating that PACE programs present “significant safety and soundness concerns” to the lending community. The residential programs that were emerging have all stopped operating their programs. PACE programs provide a voluntary tool for municipalities to promote the adoption of renewable energy (RE)... Read more →

The BP Gulf blowout and energy policy

If any good comes from the BP Gulf oil blowout, it will be a serious effort to reform America’s energy policy and reduce our dependence on oil. President Obama connected the disaster to the need for a modern energy policy that ends our dependence on oil in his first national address from the Oval Office last week. PBS NewsHour has great online coverage of the President’s address, annotating the text of the speech with comments... Read more →

SEC issues interpretive guidance regarding disclosure of climate change risk

This guest post on the SEC’s new interpretive guidance on disclosure of climate change risk is by Eric Jamison. This topic has not been on the radar for many people involved in water policy, but it is an important new legal development for many water-related businesses, including those involved in water infrastructure and delivery, energy production, and wastewater treatment. Eric is a second year law student at Wayne State and has a background in business... Read more →

Climate change torts - a perspective from an energy industry attorney

Tort law, which is traditionally used to protect property or collect monetary damages, is now being used with some initial success against electric utilities and coal, oil, and chemical companies for climate change harms from greenhouse gas emissions. Two recent federal appeals decisions have opened the door to climate change torts, and more litigation is on the horizon. The following guest post gives an inside perspective on climate change torts from an energy industry attorney... Read more →

Michigan issues new state rules to limit mercury emissions from power plants

Michigan has just announced new statewide rules to significantly limit mercury emissions from power plants. While the rules aren’t ideal, they are a significant victory on a critically important environmental and public health issue. Mike Shriberg, Policy Director of the Ecology Center, has worked on this issue for many years, going back to his former work with Environment Michigan. Mike was kind enough to offer this guest post on the new mercury emission rules. In... Read more →

EPA proposes rule to regulate greenhouse gas emissions from large sources under the Clean Air Act

The EPA has just announced a proposed rule to regulate greenhouse gas emissions under the New Source Review program of the federal Clean Air Act. This regulatory action is hardly a surprise, as it’s been coming ever since the U.S. Supreme Court’s Massachusetts v. EPA decision in 2007, which held that greenhouse gases are pollutants under the Clean Air Act. Still, it’s a welcomed development from the Obama administration and EPA, and comes with a... Read more →

Federal appeals court allows climate change nuisance case to go forward against power companies; EPA issues final greenhouse gas reporting rule

It was a big week in the rapidly developing field of climate change law. First, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit (based in New York) allowed a nuisance case brought by states, New York City, and nonprofit environmental groups against five major power companies that operate coal fired power plants to go forward. The decision, Connecticut et al. v. American Electric Power Co. et al., is a huge victory in the legal... Read more →