Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
What do the Flint drinking water catastrophe and the recent agreement regarding the Enbridge pipeline at the Straits of Mackinac have in common? Both are the result of a gubernatorial administration with fundamental mistrust of the public it serves. In Flint, the Snyder Administration appointed an emergency manager to short-circuit democratic processes and act paternally… Read more »
Fort Gratiot County Park north of Port Huron bustles for a little more than three months of the year, from Memorial Day to Labor Day. Large groups occupy the gazebos, families snatch up all the picnic tables, teens play Frisbee in the sand while kids rule a small playground, and the smell of cooking meat is… Read more »
The City of Flint, through its city council, just approved a deal to return to and stay on Detroit water, now managed and sold by the suburban Great Lakes Water Authority (GLWA). This decision must be viewed as the next step, not the final outcome. Even though the city and residents will get the benefit… Read more »
Jim Maturen of Reed City is a lifelong conservationist who looked personally into the concern that Nestle’s water withdrawals are affecting critical and sensitive trout streams. He did it the old-fashioned way – he went out in the streams. We asked him for his observations. The controversy over Nestlé’s extraction of water in Osceola County… Read more »
What rights does the public have to access the shore? By deciding not to hear an appeal brought by a right-wing foundation on behalf of a coastal property owner, the U.S. Supreme Court has provided an answer, for now. The Court of Appeals decision whose challenge the Supreme Court refused to hear upheld a local… Read more »
Whose waterfront is it anyway? An important court case in Wisconsin will offer one answer to that question – – and it could have important implications for public access and open space in the redevelopment of Michigan’s and Great Lakes’ shorelines. The case, which is on appeal from a trial court that sided with the… Read more »
Stop All Disaster-Schemers from Ripping Off Our Public Water for Selfish Profits Jim Olson Here’s the ugly future of water if we don’t protect it as something public and held in public trust for the benefit of citizens. Water is a commons, meant to be used by landowners, homeowners, and citizens who have a right… Read more »
Public Statement Michigan Department of Environmental Quality Line 5 Straits New Anchor Structures Jim Olson President and Legal Advisor, FLOW (For Love of Water) July 25, 2017 Director Grether, Division and Unit Chief Fisher, and the Gaylord Office Unit Supervisor Haas, and Great Lakes Submerged Land Specialist Graft: This statement addresses a primary legal requirement… Read more »
Public Meeting of the Michigan Pipeline Advisory Board Petoskey, Michigan, June 12, 2017 Statement of James Olson President and Legal Advisor, FLOW for Love Water It’s time for our state government to stop treating our 1963 Constitution, statutes and common law as nice but meaningless environmental policy statements and start treating them as the duty… Read more »
I share in the excitement with FLOW’s Executive Director Liz Kirkwood, the staff, Board of Directors, and supporters in welcoming Dave Dempsey’s arrival at FLOW. When we began FLOW in its initial stages nine years ago, Dave Dempsey expressed his enthusiasm and support for our launch and the course ahead. He knows first-hand how important… Read more »
