To the Members of the Oakland County Board of Commissioners, I specialize in environmental law. I have written on the topic of water law in Michigan (in the Michigan Real Property Review, Winter 2006, Vol. 33, No. 4), as well as the potential impacts of NAFTA on large-scale water withdrawals from the Great Lakes basin. I am quite familiar with the subject matter surrounding Resolution #10047, as well as the underlying state bill, House Bill 5319. As both an attorney, and a concerned citizen, I must say that, while I appreciate the sentiment MR#10047 appears to promote in attempting to ensure that the rights of private property owners are not infringed by any changes in state law, this resolution fundamentally misunderstands both the state of water law in Michigan, as well as the impact that HB 5319 would have on this area of the law. READ LETTER
The Story of Bottled Water | by Annie Leonard
We're joining with North America's leading environmental groups to explain a complex problem caused by what I call the 'take-make-waste' economy. In this case, we explain how you get Americans to buy half a billion bottles of water a week when most can get it almost free from the tap in their kitchen. The answer, of course, is you manufacture demand--make people think they need to spend money on something they don't actually need or already have.
The Water Bottle Lie and Your Health
Those five-gallon water cooler jugs are made from a chemical called Bisphenol A (BPA), which was originally developed as a synthetic estrogen. Exposure to BPA has been linked to breast and prostate cancer, reproductive failures, heart disease, cognitive and behavioral problems, diabetes, obesity and asthma. A study commissioned by the Centers for Disease Control in 2007 showed that 93 percent of Americans have BPA in their urine. More recent studies are even scarier suggesting that BPA stays in the body longer than previously believed and that babies and young children may be particularly vulnerable because they may metabolize BPA more slowly than adults.
PLEASE SIGN THIS PETITION
Stop Asian Carp
In December 2009, DNA testing found evidence that Asian carp were within a few miles of Lake Michigan, yet the locks which provide the carp with a direct path into Lake Michigan remain open. As a result, on behalf of the citizens of Michigan I sued the State of Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to force the immediate closure of these locks. Almost immediately, other Great Lakes states supported us in court, including New York, Wisconsin, Ohio and Minnesota. The Province of Ontario joined us as well. However, the Obama administration and the State of Illinois are opposing our suit and refuse to close the locks. You can help us convince federal and local authorities to close the locks and protect the jobs and ecology that depend on the health of the Great Lakes by signing this e-petition. We will present the petition to President Obama and hope that he changes his position.
Scripps introduces bill to clarify that water is part of public trust Legislation would ban phosphorus in lawn fertilizer and restore the rights of citizens to sue on environmental grounds
8/18/09—TRAVERSE CITY — Amid a global scarcity of clean drinking water, private corporations have seized control of much of the world’s water supply, but in Northern Michigan a politically connected grassroots movement is galvanizing around an alternative, more traditional, view of water — that it should be held in public trust for the benefit of all. Speaking from the stage of the Traverse City Opera House, Scripps said that he is putting the “finishing touches” on a bill that will reaffirm that water is part of the public trust. Michigan law has historically recognized that water should be held in trust for the common good. Scripps said that his legislation would also ban phosphorus in lawn fertilizer, restore funding to the state program that cleans up leaking underground storage tanks, eliminate the Freedom of Information Act exemptions for large scale water withdrawals, and restore citizen standing under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act so that all citizens can sue to stop environmental damage.
Stupak Introduces Resolution Clarifying Congressional Intent on Great Lakes Compact
U.S. Congressman Bart Stupak (D-Menominee) has introduced a resolution, H. Res. 551, in the U.S. House of Representatives clarifying that in ratifying the Great Lakes-St. Lawrence River Basin Compact last fall, Congress expressly prohibited Great Lakes water from being sold, diverted or exported outside of the Great Lakes basin. When the Great Lakes Compact was considered in the U.S. House in September 2008, Stupak raised concerns that the wording of the compact was not strong enough to protect against water diversions through privatization, commercialization and exportation. Because his concerns were not addressed, Stupak opposed ratification of the compact.
We need your help distributing the "Pledge to Protect the Waters of the Great Lakes Basin". Please take a copy to your place or work, worship, and when you meet up with friends and associate. We need as many signatures as possible to plug the loophole in the Great Lakes Compact agreement. | CLICK HERE
Traverse City—A coalition of Midwestern citizen groups dedicated to protecting the Great Lakes Basin from water withdrawals is praising this week’s introduction of House Resolution 551 by Congressman Bart Stupak (D-MI).
The group, known as FLOW, said that the Resolution’s statement that water is a public trust, not a private commodity, would prevent all exporting of water from the Basin. They added that HR 551 would protect the Great Lakes and the rivers and aquifers that feed them more effectively than the international agreement that Congress approved last fall.
Jim Olson, lead attorney representing the citizens case against Nestle in Michigan regarding their water bottling operations in the state applauded the resolution, “ The Great Lake are far too magnificent of an international treasure to expose to exploitation and export. This resolution, if passed will seal the leaks in the Compact.” | CLICK HERE TO READ
