By Jim Olson “With my Grandma I like to walk along the beach and find Petoskey stones. With my Grandpa I like to go in Lake Michigan and body surf the waves,” my 11-year-old granddaughter Ava Bachmann reflected in late August when she stood with me along the shores of West Grand Traverse Bay. We… Read more »
Children play near a coal-fired smokestack in 1972—two years after the federal Clean Air Act was passed. Photo courtesy of Flickr.
After two pivotal hearings Tuesday, June 30, Enbridge has lost its grip on the fate of its dangerous twin Line 5 crude oil pipelines in the waters of the Straits of Mackinac. Two hearings, and the State and its citizens are two steps closer to shutting down the unstable twin crude oil pipelines once and for all.
Streaming live online this Friday morning, Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and members of her staff—attorneys Peter Manning, Bob Reichel, and Dan Bock, steeped in water and natural resources law—will make historic arguments that will lead to a shutdown of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac to protect the public trust of all of Michigan’s citizens, now and in the future, in Attorney General Dana Nessel On Behalf of the People of Michigan v. Enbridge Energy, Limited Partnership, et al., before Ingham County Circuit Court Judge James S. Jamo.
Oil & Water Don’t Mix: Potential Harm from Enbridge Pipelines in the Straits Stretches from Governor’s Mansion on Mackinac Island to Governor’s Desk By Kelly Thayer, FLOW Contributor September 9, 2014 It was a chilling portrait of a place accustomed to grandeur: Mackinac Island swallowed by a sea of oil. Passenger ferries and all other… Read more »
http://www.wilx.com/home/headlines/State-Gets-Report-on-Straits-of-Mackinac-Pipelines-278321971.html Officials from a pipeline company are seeking to reassure Michigan officials who are conducting a safety review of lines including those running beneath the Straits of Mackinac. The Michigan Petroleum Pipeline Task Force announced Monday it got an update last month about Enbridge Energy Partners LP’s Line 5. It includes two lines that… Read more »
Published on Wednesday, December 17, 2014 by Common Dreams ‘Biggest Fracking Victory Ever!’ as New York Bans Dangerous Drilling in State ‘Fracking has no place in New York or anywhere,’ says prominent activist after announcement by Gov. Andrew Cuomo by Jon Queally, staff writer Anti-fracking protesters outside Governor Andrew Cuomo’s policy summit in 2012. (Photo:… Read more »
Court Confirms Indiana’s 45-Mile Shoreline on Lake Michigan Owned and Held by State for Public Recreation Under Public Trust Doctrine By Jim Olson[1] Another state court confirms that the 3,200 miles of Great Lakes shoreline are owned by states in public trust for citizens to enjoy for walking, swimming, sunbathing and similar beach and… Read more »
By Jim Olson President, FLOW For Love of Water, Traverse City Attorney, Olson, Bzdok & Howard, P.C., Traverse City When I look back over the past year, I can’t help but feel hope in the common goodness of people and communities. I say this not without heart felt… Read more »
For Professor Joseph Sax “Of all the concepts known to America law, only the public trust doctrine seems to have the breadth and substantive content which might make it useful as a tool of general application for citizens seeking to develop a comprehensive approach to resource management problems.” – Joe Sax, The Public Trust Doctrine, 66… Read more »
