Register for the virtual public hearing on February 3, 6pm: Register here Learn more about the proposed permit: Download the fact sheet On February 3, The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) will hold a virtual public hearing to give the public an opportunity to provide comments. Read Flow’s submitted comments here. … Read more »
This month, people across the globe celebrated Human Rights Day. Every year on December 10th, the world celebrates the anniversary of “one of the world’s most groundbreaking global pledges: the Universal Declaration of Human Rights [UDHR].” The UDHR was proclaimed by the United Nations General Assembly in 1948, over 75 years ago, as a result… Read more »
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Traverse City, Mich. — Flow Water Advocates (“Flow”) has filed an administrative appeal of a Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) decision to reject Flow’s FOIA requests for logs Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) are required by permit to maintain and disclose to EGLE and the public. These logs from fourteen CAFOs… Read more »
Flow’s mission is to ensure Michigan’s waters are healthy, public, and protected for everyone. Our priorities include water infrastructure funding, tackling nitrate contamination in drinking water, factory farm pollution, and the need for a statewide septic code. We track state budgets closely because they signal real-world priorities. The newly approved FY 2025-26 budgets for Michigan’s… Read more »
What is a factory farm and how do they harm the environment and communities? Factory farms, or CAFOs (confined animal feeding operations), cram thousands of animals into confined spaces, producing sewage on the scale of a small city. This waste isn’t just manure — it’s loaded with E. coli, chemicals, and other hazards, and is… Read more »
Anaerobic digesters are facilities that decompose organic waste, separating biogas from a sludge called “digestate.” Biogas can be used on-site, paired with a facility like a livestock confinement, or processed into purified pipeline-grade biomethane for electricity or transportation. While biogas can be part of a sustainable farm operation, it has many potential shortfalls that must… Read more »
Watch the recording Factory farms, or Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs), threaten our waters with immense quantities of sewage, which too often are sprayed on fields where it can then runoff into streams and leach into groundwater — including into our drinking water. On August 8, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy… Read more »
By: Carrie La Seur, FLOW Legal Director Rivers tell tales. They remember what’s been done to them, decades back. They report on what happened this morning. They don’t lie or hold back the truth. It’s all there, in sediments and suspended solids, temperature, pH, chemical load. Sit a minute and listen to what the Pine… Read more »
Nitrate pollution might not be a familiar term, but it could be affecting your drinking water more than you realize. Nitrates are a naturally occurring form of nitrogen found in soil and water, but human activities, particularly industrial agriculture, have significantly increased nitrate levels in rivers, lakes, and groundwater. This invisible, odorless, and taste-free contaminant… Read more »
