By Gary Street, Chemical Engineer & FLOW Consultant What if the two twenty inch diameter pipelines that cross the Straits (part of Enbridge Line 5) were hung from the Mackinac Bridge, rather than immersed in water in nearly 300 feet deep? The engineers on the staff at FLOW took a… pipelines/" title="ReadCan the Mackinac Bridge be used to support the pipelines?”>Read more »
FLOW and a number of organizations have come together over the last year to rally the public and raise awareness about the Canadian energy company Enbridge and their Line 5 pipeline, a 61-year-old pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac in the Great Lakes which has increased in flow and pipeline pressure and poses a great risk… pipeline-in-the-great-lakes/" title="ReadEnbridge Under the Bridge: What We Do and Don’t Know about the Underwater Oil Pipeline in the Great Lakes”>Read more »
In the last two years, FLOW has taken a leadership role in many efforts to protect the public ownership and health of the Great Lakes. FLOW has provided science, technical, and legal analysis to underpin the work of citizens fighting for the Great Lakes. Committed to offering a sound basis for advocacy on behalf of… Read more »
On April 16, 2024, FLOW released its report, A Watershed Moment: The Great Lakes Compact After 15 Years. The report offers a history of the agreement, analysis of its achievements and gaps, and recommendations to strengthen its protections. Download the Report (PDF) On December 8, 2008, after 10 years of talks and negotiations among the… Read more »
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 abundance of groundwater, significant regions… Read more »
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 ordinary high water mark (where… shoreline/" title="ReadDefending Public Trust Rights to Enjoy Indiana’s Lake Michigan Shoreline“>Read more »
Feb. 2, 2023 Update: DNR will accept public comment on proposed Camp Grayling expansion through 5 p.m. on Feb. 8, 2023 The Michigan Department of Natural Resources announced today it will continue to accept public comment through 5 p.m., Wednesday, Feb. 8, on the National Guard’s proposed expansion of its Camp Grayling training facility to… Deadline for Public to Comment on Proposed Camp Grayling Expansion”>Read more »
Bass Lake in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore (Photo/Kelly Thayer) Editor’s note—See FLOW’s additional coverage of the Clean Water Act and the Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement here: Clean Water: It’s About Holding Officials Accountable — October 18, 2022 The State of Water Quality in Michigan — October 13, 2022 Where Do We Stand on the… Read more »
Fresh water and aquatic plant life shine on October 2, 2022, in southeastern Grand Traverse County, Mich. (Photo/Kelly Thayer) When Ohio’s Cuyahoga River caught fire in 1969—the same year Michigan’s Rouge River blazed because of waste oil—America had had enough of worsening water pollution. Public opinion strongly favored tougher laws and enforcement to protect water…. Read more »
Above: Hundreds of people attend a public comment session held by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers on the oil pipeline tunnel proposed by Enbridge under the Straits of Mackinac, on Sept. 8, 2022, at Little Bear East Arena in St. Ignace, Michigan. Photos by Kelly Thayer. By Kelly Thayer, FLOW Deputy Director Five-and-half hours… pipeline-tunnel-under-great-lakes/" title="ReadHundreds Attend Army Corps Hearing, Strong Majority Speaks Out against Proposed Oil Pipeline Tunnel under the Great Lakes”>Read more »
