STORMWATER UTILITY ACT REBORN
In 2017, I wrote a blog post on Michigan House Bill HB 4100, which sought to create the “Stormwater Utility Act.” The proposed Act was intended to confer legal authority…
Scaling Back Relief for Flooded Property
The Governmental Immunity Act grants governmental agencies broad immunity for tort liability. The Act contains an exception for liability arising from overflows or backups from sewage disposal systems however. The…
Flint Water Lawsuits Partially Revived
A prior blog post addressed the dismissal of Boler et al.v Early et al. and Mays et al. v Snyder et al. on the basis that the Safe Drinking Water…
A New Twist on the Statute of Limitations in Environmental Claims?
Statute of limitations require a person with a cause of action to bring suit within a specific period of time. Determining when that time period begins and ends is often…
More Flint Water Lawsuits Dismissed
The Federal District Court recently dismissed two more cases involving contamination of drinking water in Flint, Michigan. Similar to Boler et al. v Early et al., the plaintiffs in Mays…
Rain Dance = Rain Tax?
Some Michigan municipalities currently collect fees for stormwater drainage. Those fees are often criticized. Are they user fees or taxes subject to the Headlee Amendment? What about the benefits conferred…
Is there a Constitutional Right to Safe Drinking Water?
Fresh out of graduate school with a Masters degree in water and wastewater engineering, I went to work for the City of Flint. On rare occasions, I was asked to…
Alternative Mechanisms to Protect Against Exposure to Contamination
The Michigan Senate recently passed a bill, that if approved by the House, would make it easier to restrict exposure to contaminants from leaking underground storage tanks. Among other things,…
Michigan Underground Storage Tank Cleanup Fund Claims
The Michigan Underground Storage Tank Authority began accepting claims for corrective action and indemnification on January 1, 2016. Claims are limited to release(s) discovered and reported on or after December…
Changes to Liquid Waste Regulations
The State of Michigan recently amended several laws that will significantly change the way liquid industrial wastes are regulated. The term “Liquid Industrial Waste” is being replaced by a new…