Tag: Public Trust

Environmental groups demand Governor and State take immediate action to protect the Great Lakes from hazardous Enbridge Mackinac Straits oil pipeline

Published on July 2nd, 2014 by - Reports & Media Releases

July 2, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Liz Kirkwoood, Executive Director

231 944 1568 or liz@flowforwater.org

 Michigan Governor Snyder urged to exercise full authority over Enbridge Pipeline No. 5 under public lands easement agreement and Great Lakes Submerged Land Act 

Traverse City – 17 Conservation, water and environmental groups and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians today sent a letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder urging greater state action to regulate Enbridge Pipeline No. 5. The 61 year-old pipeline transports nearly 23 million gallons of crude oil and other petroleum products under the Straits of Mackinac each day.

The letter points out potential violations in operations and public disclosure requirements established by Public Act 10 of 1953 and the Great Lakes Submerged Land Act. Public Act 10 granted the Michigan Department of Conservation public trust authority to allow this particular easement on public trust bottomlands and waters of the Great Lakes provided they are “held in trust.”

The letter cites the lack of disclosure and transparency by Enbridge and the failure of the State of Michigan to enforce accountability and compliance consistent with the requirements of the public trust in the waters and bottomlands of the Great Lakes.

“The lack of information leaves too many questions; it makes it impossible to truly assess the risk of a devastating crude oil spill under the Straits of Mackinac, “said Liz Kirkwood, Executive Director of FLOW and a principal author of the report. “For instance, the 1953 easement agreement sets the maximum operating pressure of pipeline No. 5 at 600 psig. Data from the federal Pipeline and Hazardous Materials Safety Administration (PHMSA), show that Enbridge’s maximum operating pressure significantly exceeds 600 psig, and instead typically runs at nearly twice the allowed pressure at about 1000-1250 psig. We have to get to the bottom of this and other crucial safety questions. ”

 Enbridge had a catastrophic spill on its pipeline near the Kalamazoo River in 2010, causing severe environmental impacts and massive cleanup costs.

“We urge you, the Attorney General, and Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to fully assert your authority under the easement, Public Act 10 of 1953, the GLSLA, and public trust law to ensure that any use by Enbridge of Line 5 under the Straits does not, and will not likely, subordinate, interfere with, or impair these public trust waters and bottomlands or the public use and enjoyment of these waters  so essential to the quality of life and economy of Michigan,”  the letter states.

The groups praised the Michigan Attorney General and the Department of Environmental Quality for their joint April 29, 2014 letter to Enbridge. Recognizing that the Straits pipeline present a “unique risk” and an overwhelming magnitude of harm to the Straits, Lake Michigan-Huron, the ecosystem, and the public and private use and enjoyment that depend on them, the Attorney General and DEQ demanded that Enbridge provide critical detailed information about:  pipeline construction, modification, useful life and replacement, (2) existing and potential future uses of the pipelines, (3) pipeline inspection, (4) pipeline leak prevention, detection, and control, (5) contingency planning and spill response, (6) compliance with easement terms, and (7) access to Enbridge records under the easement.

“We appreciate the recognition by the Attorney General and the DEQ of the State’s public trust or stewardship responsibilities to protect these waters, bottomlands, and public uses from potential harm and risk associated with Line 5,” said Jim Olson, founder of FLOW, a Great Lakes water policy center. “But even if Enbridge complies with the requests of the Attorney General and DEQ in this letter, it will not have fully complied with the terms of the easement, Public Act 10, the GLSLA, or public trust law that protects the integrity of the Straits and Great Lakes.”

In the April 29 letter, the Attorney General and the DEQ state, “Strong currents in the Straits could rapidly spread any oil leaked from the pipelines into both Lakes Huron and Michigan, causing grave environmental and economic harm. Efforts to contain and clean up leaks in this area would be extraordinarily difficult, especially if they occurred in winter or other severe weather conditions that commonly occur at the Straits.” These currents could rapidly move this oil spill plume throughout Lake Michigan-Huron.

“The Great Lakes supply drinking water to 42 million people,” said Howard Learner, Executive Director of the Environmental Law & Policy Center. “We can’t afford another potential Enbridge oil pipeline spill like what happened in the Kalamazoo River.   Let’s work to try to prevent another costly disaster. All of the Great Lakes states have a vital stake in avoiding oil spill hazards in the Straits of Mackinac.”

The letter urges the Governor, Attorney General and DEQ to fully exercise authority under the easement, Public Act 10 of 1953, the GLSLA, and public trust law to ensure that any use by Enbridge of Line 5 under the Straits: “does not, and will not likely, subordinate, interfere with, or impair these public trust waters and bottomlands or the public use and enjoyment of these waters – so essential to the quality of life and economy of Michigan.”

The letter enumerates four necessary next steps:

  1. Submit the information the AG and DEQ requested in their April 29 letter and make such information available to the public;
  2. Disclose in detail all oil and other liquids or substances that have been, are, or will be transported through Line 5 pipelines under the Straits;
  3. File a conveyance application for authorization from the DEQ under the GLSLA and public trust law, coupled with a comprehensive analysis of likely impacts on water, ecosystem, and public uses in the event of a release, and demonstrate that Line 5 will conform with the State’s perpetual public trust duties and standards for occupying and using the waters and bottomlands of the Straits and Lake Michigan-Huron; and
  4. Achieve full compliance with all express terms and conditions of the easement.

Enbridge recently increased Line 5 pipeline product flow under the Straits by 10 percent from 490,000 to 540,000 barrels per day, or 2.1 million gallons per day. Enbridge increased Line 5’s pipeline pressure by 20 percent, depending on the viscosity of the product being pumped and transported.  Enbridge has increased the transport of oil in this aging 61-year-old pipeline containing heavy oil characteristics or compounds from tar sands.

“The effects of a catastrophic spill under the Straits would devastate the tourism industry so vital to the economy of northern Michigan,“ said James Clift, Policy Director of Lansing-based Michigan Environmental. The effects of a catastrophic spill under the Straits would devastate the Straits and Mackinac Island as an international attraction, the tourism industry so vital to the economy of Michigan.”

The State of Michigan has not yet conducted a proper public trust analysis under common law, the GLSLA, Constitution or Michigan Environmental Protection Act (“MEPA”). Mandatory evaluation is required under the law to determine whether or not the occupancy and use by Enbridge of Line 5 is “likely to pollute, impair or destroy the air, water or other natural resources or the public trust in these resources,” according  to Kirkwood.  In other words,  Enbridge must affirmatively prove that this five-mile submerged pipeline,  with its recent oil and product changes and increased volume and pressure will not likely harm public trust waters, the ecosystem, and uses for fishing, commerce, navigation, recreation, and drinking supplies that depend on these waters.

“Michigan residents need to get active and make it known they demand accountability,” said Jim Lively, Michigan Land Use Institute.

Environmental and conservation advocates have long been frustrated by the lack of information available about Line 5. The letter points out that the public trust requires complete transparency, disclosure, and accountability on the part of Enbridge. The State of Michigan has unfettered authority to demand such transparency, disclosure, and accountability.

The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of the world’s fresh surface water.

A copy of the full letter is available here.

# # #

FLOW is the Great Lakes Basin’s only public trust policy and education 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to advance public trust solutions to save the Great Lakes.


FLOW Takes Lead Authoring Line 5 Letter to Governor: Elevating the Public Trust Duty to Protect the Great Lakes

Published on July 2nd, 2014 by - News

On July 1, 2014, FLOW, along with sixteen other conservation, water, and environmental groups and the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians submitted a letter to Michigan Governor Rick Snyder, urging him to address Enbridge’s 61 year-old Line 5 oil pipelines located under the Straits of Mackinac in Lake Michigan-Huron. The letter addressed Enbridge’s lack of transparency and disclosure regarding its current use of Line 5, as well as the Company’s compliance record with the terms and conditions of the 1953 easement and agreements it made under Act 10, P.A. 1953, the Great Lakes Submerged Lands Act (“GLSLA”), and public trust law.

State’s Perpetual Public Trust Duty to Protect Great Lakes

As the State’s primary trustee of the Great Lakes public trust waters and bottomlands, Governor Snyder has the solemn perpetual duty to ensure that the actions of both public and private parties are not likely to harm this shared resource. This means that the State must ensure uninterrupted use for fishing, commerce, navigation, recreation, and drinking supplies for future generations.

Letter’s Requests to the Governor

The signatories have asked that the Governor exercise his broad legal authority to demand that Enbridge:

  1. Submit the information the Attorney General and the Department of Environmental Quality requested in their joint April 29 letter and make such information available to the public.
  2. Submit detailed information regarding the product contents, use, and safety of Pipe Line 5.
  3. File a conveyance application under the GLSLA.
  4. Achieve full compliance with all express terms and conditions of the easement.

Enbridge’s Track Record

Since 1999, Enbridge has been responsible for over 800 oil spills, leaking a total of 6.8 million gallons of oil into the environment. Michiganders will remember Enbridge’s catastrophic Line 6B pipeline spill along a 35-mile stretch of the Kalamazoo River, discharging some one million gallons of heavy tar sands oil and resulting in a $1 billion cleanup cost. Enbridge’s Lack of Disclosure Raises Questions About Compliance with 1953 Easement Based on Enbridge’s track record and the ecologically sensitive location of Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac, the signatories urged the State to take swift and meaningful action to ensure full compliance with the terms of the easement and the long-term protection of the Great Lakes. A review of the 1953 easement revealed a lack of transparency, disclosure, and compliance with the following expressed terms and conditions:

  1. Maximum Operating Pressure (MOP): The MOP of the pipeline is 600 pounds per square inch gauge (psig). Recent data raises questions as to whether or not Enbridge is adhering to this pressure requirement.
  2. Complete Records of Oil: Under the terms of the easement, The State of Michigan has express authority to require Enbridge to disclose and make available complete records of oil and all other substances being transported in the Line 5 pipelines.
  3. Maximum Span of Unsupported Pipeline: The records are incomplete as to whether or not Enbridge has complied with the 75 foot maximum span of unsupported pipeline requirement. Enbridge’s recent “maintenance” DEQ permit requests to place anchoring supports on the bottomlands of the lakes raises questions about full compliance with this easement term.
  4. Maximum Curvature Requirement: Enbridge should disclose current data showing that no section of Line 5 violates the maximum curvature requirement of a 2050 foot radius, as specified in section A(4) of the the 1953 easement.
  5. Adequacy of Liability Insurance Provision: The term of the easement requires that Enbridge maintain at least $1 million in insurance coverage. However, the $1 billion cost associated with the breach of Line 6B along the Kalamazoo River raises serious questions regarding the sufficiency of the protection offered by the 1953 easement.

The absence of such information – all of which is mandatory though Public Act 10 of 1953, the 1953 easement, the GLSLA, and the public trust doctrine – makes it impossible to truly assess the risks and ramifications of a devastating crude oil spill in the heart of the Great Lakes. Moreover, as trustee of the Great Lakes, the State of Michigan and its agencies have unfettered authority under the GLSLA and public trust law to demand that Enbridge provide such transparency, discloser, accountability, and compliance.

Next Steps

Line 5 is a Michigan and Great Lakes public trust issue, not a partisan one. The time to act is now given the age of the pipeline and Enbridge’s recent efforts to increase Line 5’s capacity and a change in product to synthetic crudes. Public trust authority empowers the state to require Enbridge to disclose all relevant information on Line 5 and provide much needed transparency and accountability. This, in turn, will  ensure our common waters are protected for current and future generations.

Given the gravity of this situation, all signatories of the letter have asked to meet with Governor Snyder to discuss the aforementioned desired actions at his earliest convenience. Below is the list of groups that have signed-on to this letter.

  • Michigan Environmental Council (MEC)
  • For Love of Water (FLOW)
  • Environmental Law and Policy Center (ELPC)
  • Michigan Land Use Institute
  • League of Conservation Voters (LCV)
  • Freshwater Future
  • Northwest Michigan Environmental Action Council (NMEAC)
  • Concerned Citizens of Cheboygan and Emmet Counties
  • Article 32.org
  • Michigan Citizens for Water Conservation (MCWC)
  • Michigan Resource Stewards
  • SURF Great Lakes.org
  • Straits Area Concerned Citizens for Peace, Justice and the Environment (SACCPJE)
  • TC350.org
  • The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay
  • West Michigan Environmental Action Council (WMEAC)
  • Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians
  • Straits Area Audubon Society

Click here to read the letter to Governor Snyder

Click here to read the Press Release

News Articles

AP News Article 

ABC12 News Article

Detroit News Article 

Toledo News Now Article 

The State News Article

WGVU News Article

Record-Eagle Editorial: NMC can help create a future water agenda

Published on June 19th, 2014 by - News

Click here to read the editorial in The Record Eagle. AND Click here to read the feature article from the Record-Eagle.

By: Record-Eagle Editor

June 19, 2014

If you want to study volcanoes, you go to Hawaii. If you’re going to study fresh water policy, Traverse City and Northwestern Michigan College’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute are naturals.

NMC also is home to one of the few college-based maritime programs in the country and sits right on Grand Traverse Bay and a few short miles to Lake Michigan.

Now NMC is ramping up its water expertise through a new course titled “Water Policy and Sustainability” that represents a new alliance with the Traverse City-based advocacy group FLOW — For Love of Water —- and its founder, Jim Olson.

Olson is an attorney with the firm Olson, Bzdok and Howard and a recognized expert in environmental and water law and policy. He co-designed and will co-teach the course.

Olson said the course will look at water policy from a historical and current policy perspective and “then build upon the history and present water laws and policy to ask the question: Are we ready for what’s coming in the 21st Century?”

The future is what matters here. In Michigan, there can be no bigger issue than fresh water. It is our greatest asset and its value will only increse. How we prepare ourselves to protect that asset through sound policy and robust laws could determine our future.

Olson says water is “common to all of us and that imposes limits on what we must do to preserve it from one generation to the next.”

Preserving the resource likely includes fending off — or at least controlling — efforts from outside the Great Lakes watershed to tap into what appears to be an unlimited resource that could all too quickly look all too limited.

Water Studies Institute education coordinator Constanza Hazelwood said the course is part of an effort to expand the Institute’s global policy curriculum. Any talk about water policy must be global to matter.

NMC has an opportunity to become a leader in future debates over water policy and to set the agenda. We as a state and nation need to learn how to talk about water and how to protect — and share — the asset.

NMC, Olson and FLOW all bring different skills and perspectives to the debate, and all three need to be heard.

Record-Eagle: NMC and advocacy group test unity waters

Published on June 17th, 2014 by - News

Jim Olson FLOW

Click here to read the article in The Record Eagle. AND Click here to read the Record-Eagle Editorial about this program.

By Michael Walton

June 17th, 2014

Northwestern Michigan College officials will expand NMC’s water studies programming through a course launching this fall with the help of a local water policy and education group.

NMC and For Love of Water — or FLOW — joined to create the course “Water Policy and Sustainability.”

Jim Olson, founder of FLOW and a partner in the Traverse City-based law firm Olson, Bzdok and Howard, said the course offers something unique.

“That is, the course will look at water policy historically, in present times, and then build upon the history and present water laws and policy to ask the question: Are we ready for what’s coming in the 21st Century?” he said.

Olson, an expert in environmental and water law and policy, co-designed and will co-teach the course.

Olson will focus on three areas: the connections between water and things like food, energy and transportation; the hydrological cycle; and the balance between an individual’s right to access water and the necessity to protect the resource for future generations.

“To solve the problems in this century, we have to understand water is not only individual to each of us, but it is common to all of us and that imposes limits in terms of what we must do to preserve it from one generation to the next,” he said.

Constanza Hazelwood, education coordinator for NMC’s Great Lakes Water Studies Institute, said water is an increasingly important resource both regionally and globally.

“We hear more and more that water is scarce, water is an issue in boundary conflicts, and the students want to learn more about, how they can look at our freshwater assets in light of those developments around the world,” Hazelwood said.

The new course is part of an effort to expand the Water Studies Institute’s global policy curriculum, Hazelwood said. It also dovetails with NMC’s wider efforts to develop relationships with education institutions in China, including the Kaifeng-based Yellow River Conservancy Institute.

Individuals interested in enrolling can visit nmc.edu/water.

Morning Sun: FLOW forum educates on Great Lakes advocacy

Published on May 24th, 2014 by - News

Click here to read the article in the Morning Sun.

By Malachi Barrett

May 24, 2014

Pure Michigan may not be as untainted as one would think.

Environmental advocacy policy organization For Love of Water spoke in front of an assembly of students and faculty members at Alma College recently on the dangers facing the Great Lakes and Michigan watershed.

Climate change, invasive species, polluting contaminants and nutrient runoff are just a few of the issues afflicting one of the most valuable natural resources in America.

The forum discussion was sponsored by students in an Alma College environmental communication course.

Students sponsored the event to facilitate the discussion of projects and issues that they studied over the spring term.

“It is a real pleasure to work with this generation to figure out what motivates people to be passionate about the most important issue, and that is water.” said Liz Kirkwood, FLOW executive director.

The main goal of FLOW is to build public awareness and educate decision makers to provide a framework for governance over the Great Lakes Basin so they are protected for future generations.

“We have a number of issues that are systematic and not easy fixes, one of the most important things that we do is education,” said Allison Voglesong, FLOW Communications Designer.

Kirkwood said FLOW’s understanding of Michigan’s relationship with water is defined by the public trust, an idea that the government is responsible to act as a trustee of water, much like a bank trust protects money, with citizens being the beneficiaries.

Because water is cyclical in nature, protection of surface water connects people to every part of hydrological cycle. The Great Lakes hold 20 percent of the world’s fresh water.

“What happens here affects the Great Lakes, we supply the contaminants that go down and get into the Great Lakes,” said Alma Environmental Studies Professor Murray Borrello.

He cited fish in Lake Huron containing a fire retardant chemical only manufactured in St. Louis, Michigan. He also warned the audience of the dangers of overdrawing water from wells and agricultural waste produced that enters the Great Lakes Basin.

Most dangerous of all to the watershed is hydraulic fracking, a process that maximizes the output of natural gas and oil wells by pumping water and chemicals into formations deep into the ground. Building pressure fractures rock layers that release oil reserves to the surface, at the cost of irrecobly contaminating large amounts of water.

“The greatest danger to Michigan right now is fracking,” said writer Michael Delp. “It takes 22 millon gallons of water to frack a well in Michigan, and the water that they take back out of the ground is full of toxins.”

It is tough for the average person to judge what 22 million gallons of water looks like, so Delp made a conservative comparison to the amount of water dumped by Tahquamenon falls in ten minues. Fracking fluid is composed of 90 percent water by volume, but not even the most advanced filtration systems can remove the .5 percent of chemicals in the composition.

Delp is writer of poetry, fiction and nonfiction who focuses on nature, especially rivers and lakes. He opened the forum with three poems in his character of the “Mad Angler” a persona used to take on a vengeful, uncomprimising stance against the destruction of natural habitats.

FLOW Founder Jim Olson steered the conversation towards legal action. He has been practicing environmental and water law for forty years and has been involved in a variety of state and federal court decisions protecting the public commons.

Olson spoke at length about the need to protect the public trust and keep waters out of the hands of individuals or corporations. He said America has strong public trust laws that have been used by the Supreme Court in the past, but they are often overlooked.

“The free markets wil not exist if theyr are owned by a few at the cost of the commons,” Olson said. “What we’re talking about is saving the markets through decentralization so that young people can be the entrepreneurs of renweable energy, new water techology, conservation, health; the things, ideas and connections we can make to do something about this.”

By Malachi Barrett, mbarrett@michigannewspapers.com @PolarBarrett

Photos: FLOW and Alma College Environmental Communications Class Project

Published on May 23rd, 2014 by - News

2014-05-21 Alma enviro comm and staff photo

FLOW Staff with Dr. Mike Vickery and the students from his Environmental Communications class at Alma College.

2014-05-21 Alma enviro comm lesson board

The students were hard at work brainstorming new ideas and communications tactics for FLOW’s public trust education.

2014-05-21 Alma enviro comm jim present

FLOW had to opportunity to give a public presentation at Alma an had a great discussion on Water, Public Trust, and the Future of our Great Lakes Commons.

Summary – Virtual Townhall Webinar on Nutrient Pollution, Harmful Algal Blooms, and Dead Zones in the Great Lakes

Published on May 16th, 2014 by - H2Olson

Click here to view on YouTube.com

FLOW’s May 13th webinar hosted four speakers who provided their insight on nutrient pollution in Lake Erie. We were fortunate to hear from

  • Dr. Don Scavia, professor from the University of Michigan
  • Codi Yeager-Kozacek, correspondent from Circle of Blue
  • Dave Dempsey, member from the International Joint Commission
  • Jim Olson, FLOW Founder, President and Environmental Lawyer

Close to 60 participants tuned in; evident of concern across the Great Lakes Water Basin about the issue of reappearing harmful algal blooms (HABs) and “dead zones” in Lake Erie. Below is a quick summary of the discussion.

Moderator Liz Kirkwood gave an overview of the issues: In the 1960’s, point source nutrient pollution was the root cause of HABs, under the regulations of the Clean Water Act and Great Lakes Water Quality Agreement, it appeared that the crisis was solved by the 1980’s.

University of Michigan Professor Don Scavia gave an overview of the data that indicated the causes of modern HAB emergence: models require an average load input of dissolved reactive phosphorus to be reduced by 78%. Non-point source pollution is now the predominant issue of Lake Erie’s HABs.

Circle of Blue correspondent Codi Yeager-Kozacek reported on the agriculture factors creating the new, emerging HAB problem: Today, farm technology and increased agricultural competition are factors to a different kind of nutrient pollution. Incentives to combat excessive nutrient runoff encourage updating Best Management Practices (BMPs), which today are not mandatory of farmers. The Great Lakes region generates about 15 billion dollars a year agriculturally. With high competition there is too much at stake to assume an unregulated industry will succeed.

Dave Dempsey discussed how the The International Joint Commission (IJC), a binational organization, will resolve disputes about the use and quality of boundary waters between nations. Their recent Lake Erie Ecosystem Priority (LEEP) report provided recommendations on nutrient pollution reduction and referenced FLOW’s Public Trust Framework as a strategy for future protection of Lake Erie.

JIm Olson concluded the webinar with an explanation of FLOW’s Public Trust Principle. With a struggle against time, resolutions must be made that controls further degradation of Lake Erie. The Public Trust Principle is beneficial because it is both flexible and holds states accountable. It allows for future protection considering public opinion and scientific data, while addressing concerns raised by the other presenters.

The webinar stimulated thought and closed out with an engaging Q and A, a few questions below.

Q. Has the information on the need to ramp-up structural BMPs been shared with USDA/NRCS and EPA for consideration under the new GLRI Action Plan being developed now?
A. Yes, information is being shared throughout the region addressing all the variables, not just BMPs. Information they feel is well know, however the time frame is not.

Q. It appears the intensity of agriculture is WAY out spacing technological and political changes, what structures are in place for the political sphere to keep up with the industry?
A. There are structures in place, such as the Clean Water Act, however we still need further reform collectively on what to do. There needs to be new standards for TMDLs and framework through court action that will hold parties responsible. Implementing Public Trust principles will help move this action forward as our current political sphere shows major gaps.

Q. What current political structures are in place to effectuate political change to compel farmers to use strategies such as BMPs?
A. The Farm Bill is the only solid structure as of right now. Nutrient trading may be something to explore in the future, yet it does not address TMDLs directly. There have been successes with it, but the EPA sets limits, and the state also sets their own creating conflict. We can consider modeling off chemical-trading as it has been done with air-trading programs. Wisconsin has a number of test programs in place right now that examine nutrient trading, the problem lies however in finding the right scale to measure based upon each watershed.

Q. How does one get land tenants to change, we need non-farming landowners to implement these BMPs also but where is the incentive?
A. Land use regulation should apply to all, in terms of buffers and structural practices. Watershed groups have the authority to regulate land practices that cause harm to waterways, be they agricultural or not. Landowners will be required to regulate in land use through laws sanctioned and passed by the state. Regardless of their specific practice it will be in the best interest of all to follow BMPs.

FLOW Awarded NMEAC John Nelson Water Steward Award

Published on May 2nd, 2014 by - Reports & Media Releases

Click here to view and download the press release as a PDF.

May 2, 2014

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Liz Kirkwoood, Executive Director

231 944 1568 or liz@flowforwater.org

FLOW Awarded NMEAC John Nelson Water Steward Award

TRAVERSE CITY– On April 25, 2014, Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council (NMEAC) honored FLOW with the John Nelson Water Steward Award at their Annual Environmentalist of the Year Celebration. This award recognizes organizations for their water stewardship efforts. Its namesake, John Nelson, is the Grand Traverse Baykeeper, whose extraordinary leadership protects the waters through informed citizen and government engagement.

2014 marks NMEAC’s 26th year recognizing individuals and organizations who effectively advocate environmental awareness and protection in Northern Michigan. NMEAC was established in 1980 and is the region’s oldest grassroots environmental advocacy organization, influencing five county regions throughout Northwestern Michigan. The all-volunteer organization continues to operate under the mission: “Preserving the natural environment through citizen action and education.” http://www.nmeac.org/

“There was nobody more deserving than Jim Olson and Liz Kirkwood for the John Nelson Water Steward Award. The amount of time FLOW spends mentoring and inspiring our community is priceless. They are a true powerhouse team!” says June Thaden, a member of the board of directors for NMEAC.

FLOW’s mission is to advance public trust solutions to save the Great Lakes. To address the basin-wide systemic threats facing the Great Lakes, FLOW educates decision-makers and communities about the public trust doctrine and the commons as ways to protect our majestic Great Lakes.

Under the public trust, water is protected as a shared resource for the benefit of current and future generations. Our government’s job is to protect the water for everyone as a trustee. And citizens can assert their rights if our common waters are not being adequately protected as a shared resource and legacy for future generations.

“It is such an honor to receive NMEAC’s John Nelson Water Steward Award, named after our revered Grand Traverse Baykeeper who serves as the eyes, ears, and voice of this beautiful bay,” remarks Executive Director, Liz Kirkwood. “Like John Nelson and his stewardship work connecting citizens and decision-makers, FLOW works with local governments and high-level decision-makers to develop long-term policy solutions that protect our waters as a commons,” she says.

FLOW’s current programs include: (1) extreme energy transport and the Line 5 pipeline under the Straits of Mackinac; (2) local government ordinances to protect against air, water, and land impacts of fracking in Michigan; and (3) legal strategies to address nutrient pollution in Lake Erie and beyond. FLOW collaborates with local, regional, national and international organizations to promote policy changes and deepen public awareness through policy papers, presentations, and public events. This fall, FLOW will host the Wild & Scenic Film Festival in Traverse City.

FLOW is grateful to organizations like NMEAC, which provide a platform to build important partnership coalitions and to work together to address key environmental issues.

# # #

FLOW is the Great Lakes Basin’s only public trust policy and education 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to advance public trust solutions to save the Great Lakes.

 

 

Longtime FLOW Volunteer Eric Olson Steps Down as Communications Director

Published on May 1st, 2014 by - Reports & Media Releases

Eric Olson, FLOW, Great Lakes, public trust, policy center, water

Click here to view and download the press release as a PDF.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Contact: Liz Kirkwoood, Executive Director
231 944 1568 or liz@flowforwater.org

Longtime FLOW Volunteer Eric Olson Steps Down as Communications Director, Maintains Position as Board of Directors Vice Chair

TRAVERSE CITY, MI – Presiding selflessly as an unpaid volunteer Executive Director from 2009 to 2012 and then as Communications and Education Director from 2012 to April 2014, Eric Olson has stepped down from his staff role and now maintains his position as Vice Chair and interim Secretary of the Board of Directors.

Eric Olson has been with FLOW since its infancy, and was the first Executive Director. He joined FLOW to help realize the lifelong dream of his brother—FLOW Founder and President Jim Olson—to start a Great Lakes policy and education nonprofit.

“Jim, of course, infected me with his passion for the Great Lakes, the public trust, and water justice,” says Eric Olson.

“If it were not for my brother Eric joining forces with me to form the original FLOW coalition, FLOW would not be the thriving, cutting-edge water policy and education nonprofit organization it is today,” says Jim Olson.

Some of Eric Olson’s notable contributions to FLOW include:

  • transitioning FLOW from a coalition to a nonprofit,
  • reimagining the FLOW website,
  • launching and managing FLOW’s Facebook page,
  • growing the very beginning of the Great Lakes Society, and
  • networking to bring FLOW together with world-renowned water advocate and National Chairperson of the Council of Canadians, Maude Barlow for a series of speaking engagements and workshops across the Great Lakes Basin.

“Eric has worked tirelessly to build a movement and a coalition of organizations and individuals dedicated to protect the Great Lakes as a commons. We are so grateful to him for his volunteer work and service. Because of Eric, FLOW has become a strong policy and educational center for the Great Lakes,” remarks Executive Director Liz Kirkwood.

Eric Olson, who resides in Rochester Hills, MI with his wife Joyce, gave enormous amounts of his free time to FLOW during what he calls his “semi-retirement” from commercial real estate. He spent countless long weekends travelling hundreds of miles, dedicated to helping forge FLOW from an idea into reality.

“FLOW started because of the need to address questions and threats to the Great Lakes and waters of Michigan, and Eric understood the magnitude of this. He also shared the larger vision of the right of the public to use and enjoy the Great Lakes and our common waters, and the importance communicating this to the public in addition to our research and reports submitted to government leaders. Because of Eric, we now have a strong communications program and several partner organizations around the Great Lakes, in addition to our water policy program and projects,” says Jim Olson.

Eric Olson will remain with FLOW as Vice Chair and interim Secretary of the newly expanded Board of Directors, and his staff leadership legacy will continue to benefit FLOW for many years to come. “I’m looking forward to continue serving on the Board as Vice Chair to ensure FLOW’s leadership in educating the public and our government leaders about the threats facing our Great Lakes and the solutions FLOW is advancing to protect these majestic waters. These solutions not only protect the Great Lakes but also the public’s rights and responsible uses of these waters that have been handed down generation to generation by our forefathers through public trust doctrine,” says Eric Olson.

Serving alongside Vice Chair Eric Olson is newly-elected Board of Directors Chair and attorney Mike Dettmer. Also joining the FLOW Board of Directors this spring are former Executive Director of the Grand Traverse Land Conservancy, Lew Coulter; Senior Editor of Circle of Blue, Keith Schneider; and Food & Water Watch Water Program Director, Emily Wurth.

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FLOW is the Great Lakes Basin’s only public trust policy and education 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization. Our mission is to advance public trust solutions to save the Great Lakes.