This year, in violation of clear constitutional and legal mandates, the State of Michigan has handed out groundwater extraction permits allowing for the destruction of Michigan’s water and natural resources. In order to protect our water — which by law belongs to the people — FLOW has created model legislation to regain public control and… Read more »
FLOW’s mission has always been clear: public access to clean, safe and affordable water for all. Still, mounting threats to the quality and quantity of our waters, and the issues of social justice surrounding both, have reached a level of incredible urgency. Here at FLOW, we recognize that such urgency calls for organized, all-encompassing… Read more »
Snyder Administration Knowingly Violates State Law, Constitution in Race to Seal ‘Line 5’ Oil Tunnel Deals || December 17, 2018 In a rush to give away public land, water, and taxpayer resources to the private Canadian pipeline company Enbridge before departing office in 13 days, Gov. Rick Snyder and his administration are knowingly taking steps… Read more »
Now that the primary election is behind us, Michiganders will pay increasing attention to this fall’s all-important electoral choices. FLOW is contacting the nominees for Governor, Attorney General, and northwest Michigan House and Senate seats this week to inform them of the water and public trust issues we think they should tackle. We are looking… Read more »
Dear __________: Congratulations on your victory in the August 7 primary for State Representative/Senator. The opportunity to serve/continue serving your constituents will bring many environmental issues to your attention. I am writing to provide you brief background information on several of them. By way of introduction, FLOW is a Great Lakes water law… Read more »
“Water Justice Flows Like Water.”[1] Law professor Sprout D. Kapua’ala, borrowing from Martin Luther King, Jr.’s I’ve Been to the Mountaintop speech in 1968 (“justice rolling down like waters”), captures decades of conflict over the streams and waters of Hawai’i, siphoned and dried from a century of withdrawals and diversion ditches cut across the landscape for… Read more »
Last Thursday, July 6, was FLOW’s second annual An Evening for the Great Lakes hosted by amazing co-organizers Cammie Buehler and Jeremy Turner at the beautiful Cherry Basket Farms near Omena. What a fantastic night! We want to extend a huge thank you to everyone who made the event such a major success. Special thanks to incredible… Read more »
“The water cycle and the life cycle are one” —- Jacques Cousteau A White-Water Trip Down the Currents of the Public Trust Doctrine In ancient times, people knew water and the life cycles were the same. Without water, civilizations collapsed. Rome, with its dependence on water and the spokes of its aqueducts, knew this…. Read more »
With neither review nor transparency, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on June 1, 2018, granted permits to Michigan Potash Operating for three deep-injection wells to dispose of brine waste in the heart of a wetland complex about five miles southwest of the city of Evart, in southern Osceola County. The latest approval comes after the MDEQ last… Read more »
By Tom Baird, FLOW Board Member Once again, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has sacrificed our precious water resources for the profits of a privately owned business and the promise of a couple of low wage jobs. As a result, the waters of the Au Sable River will be seriously polluted, and the risk… Read more »
