Community leaders and mayors along the Mississippi River are considering supporting a compact among the river’s 10 states to safeguard this vital resource.
“People are aware of how those low levels on the Mississippi River affect commerce and the communities,” emphasized Melissa Scanlan, Director for the Center for Water Policy at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee in her interview with the Associated Press.
– The Associated Press
The School of Freshwater Sciences offers a graduate “Practicum” course. Professor Scanlan designed the practicum to model a water consulting firm with public-sector clients. In Spring 2023, the graduate students donated their time to the City of Milwaukee’s Environmental Collaboration Office to conduct a preliminary analysis of the feasibility of offshore wind in Lake Michigan. Students formed an interdisciplinary team to investigate the wind and power potential at various points offshore and identified a zone that minimizes potential harm to the ecosystem, aesthetics, and navigation. The first-of-its-kind report includes a wide variety of preliminary evaluations for offshore wind in Lake Michigan, including: permitting, wind analysis and power generation potential, environmental considerations, funding options, cost-benefits, and stakeholder engagement approaches. Based on their research, they conclude that offshore wind at least 6 miles off the coast of Milwaukee and optimally around 12 miles out could produce significant renewable energy, especially in winter when solar is at its lowest. They offer recommendations to maximize renewable energy benefits, while reducing ecosystem costs.
Read the full story here.
You can also view the complete feasibility assessment here:
Milwaukee Offshore Wind Project Feasibility Report (PDF)
Citation: Bevington, J., Brockley, E., DeYoung, C., Doberstein, A., Hartwig, N., Thurston, R. (2023). Lake Michigan Offshore Wind Project Feasibility Report. University of Wisconsin – Milwaukee Publications
Professor Scanlan will be teaching at this year’s State Bar of Wisconsin Continuing Legal Education Environmental Law Section Annual gathering. She will be giving an update on recent developments in water law, and discussing how they could impact Wisconsin’s waterways. This will include a briefing on the Sackett v. EPA Supreme Court decision and her most recent research on Wisconsin DNR’s implementation of the public trust doctrine. More information, registration, and a full schedule can be found .
Read the research:
Melissa K. Scanlan, The Public Trust Doctrine: Regulatory Reform, Climate Disruption, and Unintended Consequences,
Listen to:
The New York Times recently published our Journalist in Residence Dan Egan on the alarming environmental crisis surrounding Florida’s Lake Okeechobee. The article, titled “,” serves as a stark reminder of the urgent need to address nutrient pollution and its detrimental effects on water systems.
Lake Okeechobee, once a vibrant and diverse ecosystem, is now plagued by toxic algae blooms that pose significant risks to human health and the environment. These harmful blooms are fueled by a combination of factors, including phosphorus pollution from agricultural runoff, rising temperatures, and increased rainfall—all consequences of a changing climate. The consequences of these algae blooms reach far beyond the lake itself. Here, Egan highlights the devastating impacts on local communities, the fishing industry, and tourism in the region.
Center for Water Policy and Brico Fund Journalist in Residence, Dan Egan, has been featured in multiple major media outlets to discuss society’s delicate relationship with phosphorus, which is the focus of his newest book, “The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance”.
– Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
– The New Yorker
– The Smithsonian Magazine
– The Guardian
– ProPublica
– The New York Times
– Barnes & Noble
In a recent webinar hosted by the National Sea Grant Law Center, Anya Janssen and Andrian Lee, postdoctoral fellows at the Center for Water Policy, shared their experiences and highlights from over the last year. Anya’s research focused primarily on Wisconsin’s phosphorus rules and their impacts on water quality over the last 10 years. In addition to her research oh phosphorus, she also organized and led the 2023 Phosphorus Conference, which brought together academics, agency professionals, water managers, and producers to discuss what the next 10 years of phosphorus research will look like. Andrian’s research has touch on several unique topics including lead service lines and offshore wind development. You can view the full webinar by clicking the video.
A transcript is also available .
Over 20 years ago, the Center for Water Policy’s Director, Melissa Scanlan, began researching the front-line dilemmas Wisconsin’s water trustees at the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources face when they implement the laws that give life to the Public Trust Doctrine. She has written three articles based on research interviews with the WDNR that are each separated by about a decade. Her latest research findings from her 2021 interviews highlight how climate change and population pressures have intensified water management challenges. She documents a steady erosion of state laws over the past decade that have weakened WDNR’s authority and capacity to respond. The research concludes with suggestions for improving Wisconsin’s implementation of the constitutionally-grounded protections for the waters of the state.
Read the research:
Melissa K. Scanlan, The Public Trust Doctrine: Regulatory Reform, Climate Disruption, and Unintended Consequences, .
Earlier works in this research series are also available:
Melissa K. Scanlan, Implementing the Public Trust Doctrine: A Lakeside View into the Trustees’ World, (Summer 2012).
Melissa K. Scanlan, The Evolution of the Public Trust Doctrine and the Degradation of Trust Resources: Courts, Trustees and Political Power in Wisconsin, .
Watch the short research explainer:
The implementation of effective policies, regulations, and infrastructure is essential to create inclusive coastal areas that cater to the needs of both residents and tourists. However, policy tools of exclusion have been used over time in ways that systematically and disproportionately impact people of color. The Sustainable Development Code provides useful ordinances for local governments. In the chapter , they highlight the importance of reducing barriers to coastal public beach access in order to promote sustainable and inclusive cities. The chapter emphasizes the significance of equitable distribution of beach access and the need for policies and regulations that prioritize public rights.
Berkeley Ecology Law Quarterly recently published a law review article by Sarah Martinez. This article is a work product from her time as a Water Policy Specialist at the Center for Water Policy. Her research sheds light on the enduring issue of racial disparities in access to outdoor recreation, particularly “blue spaces” (beaches and pools). The article delves into the historical exclusion and environmental justice challenges faced by Black and People of Color and ties that to barriers that still exist today. The research also discusses potential tools, such as the public trust doctrine and legislative initiatives like the Environmental Justice for All Act, which may aid in achieving equitable access to blue spaces.
Read the research:
Sarah R. Martinez, “” 50.1 Ecology Law Review Quarterly 1 (2023)Â
A U.S. Supreme Court that narrows the scope of federally protected wetlands has water quality and wetland advocates around the country concerned.
In an interview with W51ÁÔĆć, Melissa Scanlan, UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences professor and director of the Center for Water Policy, shed light on the ruling and what it could mean for Wisconsin.
Listen to
In February 2023, the Center for Water Policy co-hosted a statewide conference to evaluate a decade of research and experience implementing Wisconsin’s phosphorus rules and their impact on water quality. We are helping to shape future phosphorus research and policy in Wisconsin! In an ongoing collaboration between Freshwater Collaborative Water Policy Network researchers, policy experts, state agencies, and nonprofits, we produced a  that contains an academic for the next decade and to reduce phosphorus pollution and improve water quality.
Center for Water Policy and Brico Fund Journalist in Residence, Dan Egan was the featured keynote speaker of the conference, and has been featured in multiple major media outlets to discuss society’s delicate relationship with phosphorus, which is the focus of his newest book, “The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance”.
Videos of the full conference are available on our .