Recent Posts
Michigan Water Day resolution 2024
For the fourth year in a row, FLOW has helped author and worked towards a House of Representatives resolution declaring March 22 as Michigan Water Day, and resolving that water is a human right. The resolution was introduced by Rep. Rachel Hood (D-81) and co-sponsored by Betsy Coffia (D-103) and …Read More »World Water Day: Water Unites Us All
The 8 billion people of this planet are almost unfathomably diverse, but have one thing in common. We need water to survive, and we consist of water – 55 to 60% of the adult body is water. Recognizing the universal human need for water, the United Nations has declared the …Read More »Nessel v. Enbridge: Oral arguments in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit
Download as PDF Listen to audio recording of the oral arguments Traverse City, Mich.— Today, March 21, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit heard oral arguments in Michigan Attorney General Nessel v. Enbridge, the 2019 lawsuit seeking to shut down Line 5 in the open waters of …Read More »Groundwater Awareness Week: March 10-16, 2024
Here’s a riddle: what resource is critical to our public health, environment and economy and invisible to the naked eye? That should be easy. The answer is groundwater. By its nature out of sight, and therefore out of mind, groundwater is an indispensable resource in Michigan and around the world, …Read More »WEBINAR: The Ethics of Sharing Great Lakes Water – April 17, 2024
With worsening water scarcity in the US and around the world, pressures to share Great Lakes water will grow. The Great Lakes Compact allows water to be diverted outside of the watershed basin for “short-term humanitarian emergencies.” But what does this mean, and who defines it? What are the ethics of sharing …Read More »FLOW’s Legislative Recommendations for Michigan’s 102nd Legislature
PDF DOWNLOAD: FLOW Legislative Recommendations for 102nd Legislature As a non-partisan, nonprofit law and policy center, a key component of our mission is to help Michigan’s elected leaders uphold their duties under Article IV, Section 52 of the state constitution, the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, and the public trust doctrine …Read More »The new abnormal: Ice cover and the ecology of the Great Lakes
Why is less Great Lakes ice a bad thing? This year’s historically low Great Lakes ice coverage has attracted considerable attention. Less has been said, however, about what reduced ice means for the ecology of the Great Lakes. According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Great Lakes Environmental Research …Read More »How the Great Lakes Will Benefit from Governor Whitmer’s Energy Plan
Originally published October 6, 2023; updated February 29, 2024 In what is among the most comprehensive clean energy initiatives in the country, Michigan has become the first industrialized swing state to enact laws requiring 100 percent of electric power to come from carbon-free sources by 2040. The ambitious legislative agenda, …Read More »Michigan eliminates counterproductive environmental rules committee
The Michigan Legislature recently completed action on a bill eliminating the Environmental Rules Review Committee (ERRC). The ERRC gave polluters and developers an avenue for stopping, slowing, or weakening proposed environmental protection rules. Six of the eleven seats on the committee six were designated for industries regulated by the Michigan …Read More »Indiana Wetland Protection Rollback Threatens Great Lakes
A new Indiana law that weakens the state’s wetland protection framework will have repercussions beyond Indiana’s borders. Indiana’s move follows a U.S, Supreme Court ruling last year that gutted federal wetland protection under the Clean Water Act and gave states leeway to weaken their wetland protections. The ruling removed federal …Read More »Happy Birthday to our founder, Jim Olson!
This week, we’re celebrating not only a remarkable individual but also an inspiring force behind the mission of FLOW. It’s our founder Jim Olson’s birthday! Jim’s unwavering commitment to keeping the waters of the Great Lakes Basin healthy, public, and protected has paved the way for positive change. As we …Read More »A Festering Issue: Why Michigan Can’t Afford to Cave to Big Manure
The Battle Over Regulating Biodigesters The current West Michigan controversy surrounding permitting for a facility that processes pre-consumer food waste into fuel is a stark reminder of the delicate balance between environmental protection and economic interests. While proponents of the facility tout its benefits in terms of waste reduction and …Read More »Water, Clean Energy Budget Boosts in Governor’s Budget
Funds to help communities deal with stormwater pollution triggered by climate change and to support water infrastructure are among budget increases proposed by Governor Whitmer. Governor Gretchen Whitmer’s proposed budget for the fiscal year beginning October 1 also includes some increases for clean energy initiatives that build on climate legislation …Read More »The 2024 Issue Outlook: Hope and Possibility for Michigan’s Environment
A nationally significant package of Michigan climate bills enacted in 2023 may herald significant progress on other environmental issues in 2024. That’s the hope that FLOW and partner groups bring to the policy agenda in the year ahead. With legislative majorities and a governor in favor of strengthening Michigan environmental …Read More »Federal Court Hears Arguments from Bad River Band and Enbridge in Appeal of Line 5 Pipeline Shutdown Order
Traverse City, Mich.— On February 7, 2024, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit in Chicago heard oral arguments in the Line 5 case involving northern Wisconsin’s Bad River Band of Lake Superior Chippewa and Enbridge, Inc., a Canadian multinational pipeline and energy company headquartered in Calgary, Alberta, …Read More »Chemours Site Cleanup: FLOW Supports Community Advocates Calling for Polluter to Restore Michigan Waters
With FLOW’s legal help, a community group called the Chemours Environmental Impact Committee (CEIC – pronounced seek) of White River Township, in Muskegon County, Michigan, has petitioned the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy for a more active role in negotiations around cleaning up the Chemours (a Dupont …Read More »Carolan Sonderegger joins FLOW as Policy Director
FLOW is pleased to announce that Carolan Sonderegger has joined the team as our new Policy Director. Carolan leads our policy team in designing strategic policy interventions, and works with coalition partners, stakeholders, and agency and elected officials to advance FLOW’s mission to keep the Great Lakes healthy, public, and …Read More »53% of groundwater aquifers are losing water
A resource invisible most of the time to Michigan residents may be coveted more and more by other regions of the U.S. It’s called groundwater. Found underground in cracks and spaces in soil, sand and rock, groundwater is vital to human health and the environment. And while Michigan has an …Read More »Virtual book talk with environmental novelist Maryann Lesert
On February 15, FLOW presented an “Art Meets Water” virtual event with Maryann Lesert, novelist and author of the book, Land Marks. FLOW senior policy advisor Dave Dempsey hosted the talk via Zoom, which is now available to watch on YouTube. And, when you pre-order Land Marks from Bookshop.org in …Read More »Large-Volume Groundwater Withdrawals and the Public Trust
A fish kill in Oregon may seem to have little to do with Michigan waters – but if you look closely there is a close connection in law. As the result of large-volume groundwater withdrawals like that in Oregon’s Deschutes River, western states have documented the serious impairment of streams, …Read More »FLOW Appeals MPSC Permit to Site Replacement Line 5 Pipeline in Proposed Great Lakes Tunnel
Media Release: January 3, 2024 Download printer-friendly PDF Traverse City, Mich.— For Love of Water (FLOW), a Great Lakes water law and policy center, filed an appeal on December 22, 2023 with the Michigan Court of Appeals to overturn the Michigan Public Service Commission’s December 1 decision to approve the …Read More »FLOW joins amicus brief in Michigan Supreme Court CAFO case
By Carrie La Seur, FLOW Legal Director My lungs remember. While I was an Iowa Environmental Protection Commissioner, I said yes to a chance to visit a relatively small hog confinement run, by the dad of one of my son’s best friends. It was just a few miles from our …Read More »The Great Lakes: Fact or Fake | A new book by FLOW senior advisor Dave Dempsey
In this new book by author and FLOW senior advisor Dave Dempsey, learn the true stories beneath the surface of the world’s largest freshwater ecosystem. Everybody who looks at the Great Lakes knows they’re big, but why are they Great? From sea serpents to sunken ships, from lonely lighthouses to …Read More »History of The Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement: Some progress, some problems
By Daniel Macfarlane Daniel Macfarlane is an Associate Professor in the School of the Environment, Geography, and Sustainability at Western Michigan University. He is also a senior fellow at the Bill Graham Center for Contemporary International History, University of Toronto, and President of the International Water History Association. His research …Read More »Disgraceful: MPSC Approves Permit for Enbridge Tunnel in the Straits of Mackinac; Breaches Legal Duty to Protect Michigan’s Natural Resources
Traverse City, Mich. — FLOW is shocked that the collective efforts of thousands of Michiganders and treaty-protected tribes to protect our waters from the catastrophic risks of Line 5 have been ignored in today’s decision by the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to grant authorization for a Line 5 tunnel. …Read More »Douglas Jester announced chair of FLOW Board of Directors
FLOW is pleased to announce that Douglas Jester has been elected to a two year term as chair of its Board of Directors. Douglas has served on the FLOW board for over 4 years. A partner at 5 Lakes Energy, Douglas specializes in utility regulation and energy policy, research, and …Read More »Traverse City Participates in a Binational Exercise to Re-energize the Ecosystem Approach
Illustration: Mariah Alexander By John Hartig, Great Lakes Institute for Environmental Research, University of Windsor Last month, 13 people representing diverse backgrounds met in a Traverse City workshop to brainstorm on how to make better use of something called “an ecosystem approach” in Great Lakes protection and restoration. Part of …Read More »Be a part of a wave of support for FLOW this Giving Tuesday
Giving Tuesday is on November 28, and we’re asking you to be part of a great wave of support for FLOW and the Great Lakes ❤️ Giving Tuesday is national day of philanthropy, where people across the country show some love to the nonprofits they care about. If keeping the …Read More »EGLE’s denial of permit for Long Lake private private marina upheld
The Environmental Permit Review Commission (EPRC) recently made an important decision affecting inland lakes and the public trust doctrine in Michigan. In a case involving the proposed construction of a boathouse, boat basin, and dredged entrance channel on the 3-acre lakefront property on Long Lake in Traverse City, the EPRC …Read More »What happens when Line 5 is shut down? A report on energy market impacts
Download as PDF PLG Consulting’s 111-page October 2023 report, Likely Market Responses to a Potential Shutdown of LINE 5, provides an overview of potential impacts and market responses in the event of a planned and orderly shutdown of Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline. Line 5 is part of Enbridge’s Lakehead System, …Read More »