Blog posts by FLOW team and guest writers
With the Michigan Legislature’s summer break almost over, and less than 100 days until the election, the focus of legislators on both sides of the aisle will shift to their hometown districts. The outcome of the November polls – where Democrats will strive to maintain their majority in the House and Senate, and Republicans will… Read more »
In the summer of 2014, residents of Toledo, Ohio awoke to the news that they should avoid drinking the water that came out of their tap. On August 2, 2014, government officials warned against drinking, cooking, or brushing teeth with the algae-trainted water supplies. In total, the “do not drink” advisory was given to over… Read more »
July 31, 2024: Michigan Supreme Court affirms EGLE’s authority to issue General Permit with stronger conditions for factory farms Traverse City, Mich.— FLOW applauds the Michigan Supreme Court’s decision yesterday, rejecting the Court of Appeals’ dangerously flawed ruling in Michigan Farm Bureau v. Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy. Unsatisfied with permit terms… Read more »
More and more, communities outside of the Great Lakes watershed basin are looking for ways to tap into Great Lakes water, despite the Great Lakes Compact agreement ban on most out-of-basin water diversions. The latest example is the City of South Barrington, Illinois, which announced recently it is paying $154,000 to a consultant to prepare… Read more »
In an effort to promote government efficiency and cut red tape, Governor Gretchen Whitmer signed an executive order on July 16, 2024, sunsetting two burdensome environmental commissions – the Environmental Permit Review Commission (EPRC) and the Environmental Rules Review Committee (ERRC) – established under the Republican Synder Administration. Legislative efforts already were in the works… Read more »
July 25, 2024 marks the 14th anniversary of one of the largest inland oil spills in U.S. history, which happened just three months after the BP Horizon Gulf Spill. On July 25, 2010, a pipeline operated by Enbridge – the same corporation operating the risky Line 5 in the Straits of Mackinac – burst and… Read more »
Policy Brief: Impacts of Anaerobic Digesters (PDF) Anaerobic digesters are facilities that decompose organic waste, separating biogas from solids and liquids, called “digestate.” Biogas can be used on-site or processed into purified pipeline-grade biomethane for electricity or transportation. On confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs), a biodigester may be a cover on a cesspit…. Read more »
What do former FLOW board member Bob Otwell and Ernest Hemingway have in common? They’ve both written about the Two Hearted River. In a story published exactly one century ago, The Big Two-Hearted River, Hemingway brought to a wide audience for the first time an unmatched writing style, in this case focusing on the healing… Read more »
The environmental community has achieved a major victory – although temporary – in convincing legislative leaders to press the “pause” button on a set of bills that would pose a significant threat to the Great Lakes. Slated for a final vote in the House of Representatives on the last day of session before the summer… Read more »
The states of Michigan and Illinois and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers have signed an agreement to begin construction of a defense against Asian carp and other invasive species at the Brandon Road chokepoint in the Illinois River system. The long-delayed agreement, funded by the federal government and the two states, will support the… Read more »
