Recent Posts
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
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, transporting crude oil …Read More »We Love the Water: A conversation with Eva Petoskey
By Diane L. Dupuis, FLOW Senior Advancement Advisor I have long sought a deeper understanding of the parallels to be found in the Great Lakes water protection work undertaken by both FLOW and the Anishinaabe nations. Recently I came across an academic paper whose title seemed to point to these …Read More »Groundwater Story Map: updated, interactive data on Michigan’s hidden resource
If a picture is worth a thousand words, a map is often worth tens of thousands. That’s especially true of a map that tells the story of a natural resource that is out of sight and often overlooked: groundwater. Building on over five years of work, FLOW has recently updated …Read More »FLOW welcomes Carrie La Seur as its new Legal Director
FLOW is pleased to announce that Carrie La Seur has joined our staff as Legal Director. A graduate of Yale Law School, Carrie recently relocated to northern Michigan from Montana, where she practiced civil litigation, specializing in environmental and climate issues. From 2006-2012 served as Executive Director of Plains Justice, …Read More »Water: Essential for Life, Victim of Politics
By Jim Olson, FLOW founder and senior legal advisor Recent reports show that four decades ago, Congress was advised that citizens in our cities and towns would face lead poisoning from lead pipes in municipal drinking water systems. Nothing was done. The failure of Congress to address this crisis then …Read More »Making Polluters Pay: How to Fix State Law and Policy to Protect Groundwater and Michigan Taxpayers
Download the new report: MAKING POLLUTERS PAY (pdf) FLOW (For Love of Water) hailed the introduction of “polluter pay” bills in the Michigan Legislature as a long overdue step toward protecting Michigan’s groundwater resources and public health from the 24,000+ contaminated sites in the state. The new legislation shifts the …Read More »Bottled water: A threat to public water, but there’s hope
In his timely and profound new book, Unbottled, Daniel Jaffee tackles the threat that commercialized, packaged water poses to water as a public good. His message is more than an alarm bell – it offers hope and suggestions on how to fight back. Maude Barlow, a globally recognized water steward …Read More »Michigan state legislators introduce water affordability bills
In the wake of massive water service shut-offs in recent years affecting residents of Detroit and other communities, members of the Michigan Legislature are offering bills to make water rates affordable for all citizens. “We are the Great Lakes State, surrounded by fresh water, but many Michiganders do not have …Read More »Cleaner Energy = Cleaner Water
The Michigan legislature is poised to require that 100 percent of electric power come from carbon-free sources by 2035, in what would be among the most comprehensive clean energy initiatives in the country. The ambitious legislative agenda, fulfilling Governor Whitmer’s MI Healthy Climate Plan, would also increase energy efficiency …Read More »A conversation with DNR Director M. Scott Bowen
Governor Gretchen Whitmer appointed M. Scott Bowen as Director of the Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) in September 2023. Bowen served as the Commissioner of the Michigan Lottery from January 2008 to February 2017. He also served as the Director of Office of the State Employer and was elected …Read More »FLOW files amicus brief; urges Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals to remand Line 5 lawsuit back to state court
On September 25, 2023, FLOW (For Love of Water) filed a motion with the Sixth Circuit Court of Appeals in the 2019 state lawsuit Attorney General Dana Nessel v. Enbridge, requesting the federal appeals court to accept an amicus brief, laying out arguments why the case should be remanded back …Read More »New methods enable tracking of beach contamination sources
By guest authors: Alan Steinman, Ph.D.1 and Charlyn Partridge, Ph.D.2 1Allen and Helen Hunting Research Professor and 2Associate Professor Annis Water Resources Institute, Grand Valley State University In an email issued earlier this summer, FLOW quite appropriately noted the beauty and allure of our Great Lakes beaches, and also the …Read More »Why does Michigan need a statewide code for septic systems?
There’s a loose patchwork of septic standards in Michigan Because of the lack of state standards to assure replacement of failing septic systems, some counties, townships, cities, and villages are enacting local ordinances in place of statewide requirements, but they are relatively few out of Michigan’s approximately 2,000 local units …Read More »Don’t flush that!
Guest post by Michigan State University Extension natural resources and water quality educator, Beth Clawson It is no secret that tossing foreign objects into your toilet or sink drains will plug them up. But did you also know that they plug up your municipal wastewater treatment facilities and home onsite wastewater (septic) …Read More »Free water well testing now available in Michigan
Michigan households relying on private wells may be drinking polluted groundwater without realizing it. Residents can now get their water tested for FREE through the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and their local health departments.Read More »Stop doing that, or else we’ll tell you to stop again: BASF polluting the Detroit River
When you get a speeding ticket, you don’t get 43 years to pay it. And when you contaminate a river with toxic materials — a much bigger hazard than going 45 in a 40 – you shouldn’t get 43 years to stop doing it and pay a fine. But there’s …Read More »Defending Public Trust Rights to Enjoy Indiana’s Lake Michigan Shoreline
Guest authors: Kim Ferraro and Kacey Cook, attorneys at the Conservation Law Center In the 2018 Gunderson case, the Indiana Supreme Court held that Indiana’s Lake Michigan beaches are, and always have been, held in trust by the State as public trust resources, with State ownership extending from the natural …Read More »FLOW’s Technical Questions for the Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority
The Mackinac Straits Corridor Authority (MSCA) is a three-member panel that is responsible for overseeing Enbridge’s proposed pipeline tunnel project under the busy, environmentally sensitive Straits of Mackinac, pending all applicable permits and approvals. In June 2023, FLOW submitted public comments to the MSCA, to help further public understanding of …Read More »Where do plastic bags and bottles go to die?
The U.S. Geological Survey estimates there are 112,000 particles of plastic per square mile of Great Lakes water. While the specific, causal effects plastics may have on human health are yet unknown and currently being researched, animal studies suggest that plastics and plastic byproducts affect digestive, respiratory, endocrine, reproductive, and …Read More »A River of Manure: CAFO Sewage Runoff Threatens Water Systems
Guest author Pam Taylor is a volunteer with Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan. Taylor’s family came to Lenawee County, Michigan in 1837 to farm, and some family members are still farming there. She and her brother own a farm that’s been in her family for 117 years, where …Read More »Get the Facts on Line 5 with FLOW’s New, Updated Fact Sheet
Every day, Enbridge’s Line 5 pipeline carries nearly 23 million gallons of oil and natural gas liquids (NGLs) from the oil sand fields in western Canada to refineries in Ontario, using the Straits of Mackinac as a high-risk shortcut. In FLOW’s new, updated Line 5 Fact Sheet, you’ll learn the …Read More »Michigan’s Sixth Great Lake: FLOW featured in July 31 “Northern Express”
FLOW Executive Director Liz Kirkwood sat down with the Northern Express to talk about Michigan’s unheralded “Sixth Great Lake”: Groundwater. In the July 31, 2023 issue, learn about Michigan’s hydrological connections, and how FLOW is working to protect all the waters of the Great Lakes Basin through our work on education, …Read More »Gov. Whitmer signs “No Stricter Than Federal” roll-back: Why it matters
Michigan is once again free to enact environmental protections critical to the health of our environment and residents. Updated July 31, 2023 On July 27, 2023, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed Senate Bill 14, which passed the State House of Representatives on June 28 by a 56-52 vote. With her signature, …Read More »U.S. Army Corps to Limit Line 5 Tunnel Review
“The US Army Corps of Engineers decision to exclude the cumulative impacts of the fossil fuels Line 5 will transport, climate concerns, and, remarkably, engineering concerns raised by experts as to the integrity of the tunnel, flies in the face of the Corps’ purpose and mission, the Biden Administration’s goals …Read More »Michigan: First in Fresh Water, Last in Septic Regulation
This fall, the Michigan legislature will have an opportunity to correct a grievous and egregious deficiency in Michigan’s water policy. How is it that in the third decade of the 21st Century, Michigan, the Great Lakes State, is the only state of 50 without a statewide code setting minimum standards …Read More »
