51ÁÔĆć

Columbia Journal of Environmental Law Published “Navigating Rough Waters After Sackett v. EPA: Federal, Tribal, and State Strategies”

Wetlands and ephemeral and intermittent streams are vital to the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters. Wetlands filter pollutants from water, retain and absorb flood waters, and provide habitats for wildlife. Ephemeral and intermittent streams are ubiquitous and important pathways that drain water and pollutants into traditional navigable waters.

The Clean Water Act is the primary federal law regulating impacts to water resources in the United States, with federal jurisdiction of the Act’s programs turning on whether a waterbody is classified as a “Water of the United States” (WOTUS). In a May 2023 U.S. Supreme Court decision, Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency, the Court narrowed the definition of WOTUS to only those wetlands that have a continuous surface connection to a traditionally navigable body of water, such as a river or lake. In the wake of the decision, the EPA estimated that more than half of the nation’s wetland acres were no longer protected by the Clean Water Act.

This law review article:

  • Reviews the scientific literature on the importance and vital function of wetlands (including isolated wetlands) and ephemeral and intermittent streams;
  • Explains the various major legal decisions defining WOTUS up to Sackett v. Environmental Protection Agency;
  • Examines the federal, tribal, and state responses to Sackett; and
  • Argues that the reduced federal jurisdiction exacerbates a patchwork of protections for these vulnerable waterbodies, therefore threatening the chemical, physical, and biological integrity of the nation’s waters.

Read the research:

Rajpreet Grewal and Melissa Scanlan, Navigating Rough Waters After Sackett v. EPA: Federal, Tribal, and State Strategies, .

Interim Assistant Director Cora Sutherland Featured in Toledo Blade on Great Lakes Offshore Wind Research

Interim Assistant Director Cora Sutherland was quoted by the Toledo Blade’s Tom Henry in a piece about Great Lakes offshore wind (GLOW). Cora presented on the Center for Water Policy’s research and a recent NSF-funded workshop at the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin’s December 2024 webinar (recording ). The Great Lakes have large offshore wind potential but currently do not contain offshore wind turbines. Read more about the Center’s GLOW research here.

Read the full article here: – Toledo Blade

2024 Water Policy Publications

In 2024, the Water Policy Program at the UW-Milwaukee School of Freshwater Sciences engaged in multidisciplinary freshwater policy research.  Our work appears in peer-reviewed articles, reports and policy briefs. Our faculty and researchers are working on complex water policy issues ranging from wetlands protection in the wake of the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision in Sackett v. EPA to the legal framework that would be needed for Great Lakes offshore wind. Read more below and find links to each of our 2024 Water Policy Publications!

2024 Water Policy Publications Report 51ÁÔĆć SFSDownload

Center for Water Policy Publishes Report: “Great Lakes States’ Coastal Armoring Laws: A Comparison”ĚýĚý

The shorelines of the Great Lakes are diverse, ranging from flat, sandy beaches to steep dunes and rugged bluffs. Given increased climate disruption and uncertainty around the natural fluctuations of Great Lakes water levels, people are grappling with how to respond to waters that threaten the built environment of houses, roads, and other infrastructure. One common response is to armor the shoreline with structures like riprap revetments and seawalls. Because such structures impact shared public trust resources, like ecological systems and public access, as well as neighboring properties, this report examines and compares coastal armoring statutes and regulations across the eight Great Lakes states: Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, Minnesota, New York, Ohio, Pennsylvania, and Wisconsin. It assesses the statutory and regulatory frameworks that allow armoring and determine emergency responses across the states. By comparing each state’s approach, this report highlights best practices and identifies areas for improvement to enhance compliance with public trust obligations and promote coastal resilience in response to evolving environmental hazards.ĚýĚý

Citation:
Cora Sutherland and Melissa Scanlan, Great Lakes States’ Coastal Armoring Laws: A Comparison, Policy Brief, Center for Water Policy (2024).

Read the full report below:
Great Lakes States’ Coastal Armoring Laws: A Comparison 

Click or scroll below to watch a short animation, featuring Cora Sutherland, that introduces this report comparing shoreline hard armoring statutes across the eight Great Lakes states and highlighting regulatory best practices to strengthen coastal resilience while protecting public trust resources.

GL Shoreline Armoring ReportDownload

Watch the short animation below.

Experience “Working for the Water, Working for Each Other,” an Art Exhibit by Melanie Ariens

Experience “Working for the Water, Working for Each Other,” an art exhibition that flows with purpose and showcases visible metaphors for public access, water pollution, infrastructure, and energy systems that impact our waters. Melanie Ariens (51ÁÔĆć BFA, Painting, Drawing, and Printmaking, 1993) brings attention to the powerful connection between the Great Lakes and local communities through her mixed media works. Placing fluid creativity into unexpected contexts, she reminds us how water connects us all, underlining our collective duty to protect and value this essential resource. 

The exhibit was featured at the 51ÁÔĆć Union Art Gallery in September 2024. To learn more about Melanie’s work and her role as Creative Arts Manager at Milwaukee Water Commons, go to & .   

To learn more about topics like public access, water quality, infrastructure, and renewable energy, visit uwm.edu/centerforwaterpolicy/category/publications/. 

Center for Water Policy Seeks Water Policy and Science Communications Graduate Fellow

The Center for Water Policy is seeking candidates for a two-year funded Water Policy and Science Communications Graduate Student Research Fellowship, while earning a master’s degree from the School of Freshwater Sciences at the University of Wisconsin–Milwaukee.

To be considered for the Fellowship, the student must be admitted to the School’s water policy thesis track in our master’s degree program. Click here for information on how to apply for the master’s degree program. Applicants should indicate interest in the “Water Policy and Science Communications Fellowship” on their personal statement when applying to the graduate program. The fall semester 2025 admission deadline is January 31, 2025.Ěý

The Fellowship will begin in Fall 2025 a˛Ô»ĺ run through Spring 2027. The successful candidate will have a bachelor’s degree in journalism, communications, political science, public policy, economics, environmental science, engineering, or a related field. Candidates should be interested in conducting graduate research toward a thesis focused on water policy and science communications as well as publishing papers in scientific journals, writing policy briefs, and communicating research results to broader audiences. The Fellowship represents a unique opportunity for a student who wants to explore the intersection between water policy, science, a˛Ô»ĺ communications. 
 
The Fellow will be enrolled in the water policy thesis track master’s degree at 51ÁÔĆć’s School of Freshwater Sciences to conduct original thesis research around the topics of water policy, science, and communication. The specific topic of the student’s work will be determined by the student, in consultation with Center for Water Policy Director, . Professor Scanlan will supervise the student work a˛Ô»ĺ serve as the student’s advisor. The work performed by the student will culminate in a thesis that will be defended before graduation. The student may have an opportunity to work with Dan Egan, Journalist in Residence a˛Ô»ĺ author of Death a˛Ô»ĺ Life of the Great Lakes a˛Ô»ĺ The Devil’s Element: Phosphorus and a World Out of Balance. 

The Fellow will also be employed 50% time in the Center for Water Policy. The Fellow will join a thriving interdisciplinary team focused on applying academic research to conserve, restore, and protect freshwater. The Fellow will develop multimedia communications, outreach materials, and strategies for Center publications, media, and events. These responsibilities involve stakeholder engagement and social media savvy. 
 
The Center for Water Policy is interested in candidates who will contribute to diversity a˛Ô»ĺ equal opportunity in higher education through their research. Qualified women a˛Ô»ĺ members of underrepresented groups are strongly encouraged to apply. Fellows earn competitive pay ($21,848/academic year), health insurance, graduate tuition waiver, and the possibility of summer student hourly work. 

Please email Cora Sutherland at sutherla@uwm.edu with questions or your interest in applying to the Fellowship and the graduate program. Please send a resume/CV (1-2 pages) and a letter of interest in this position (1 page).Ěý

Center for Water Policy Welcomes Three New StaffĚý

The Center for Water Policy enters an exciting phase as it welcomes its new staff. Emma Ehrlich and Peyton McCauley make up the Center’s fourth cohort of postdoctoral Water Policy Specialists through the Sea Grant UW Water Science-Policy Fellows Program. Cami Armendariz joins the Center as its second Water Policy and Science Communications Fellow. Alongside the three new staff, former Water Policy Specialist and Sea Grant UW Water Science-Policy Fellow Cora Sutherland has been appointed as the Center’s interim Assistant Director.  

“We’re thrilled to boost our water policy research capabilities and broaden our impact with the addition of Peyton, Emma, and Cami to our team,” said Melissa Scanlan, Director of the Center and the Lynde B. Uihlein Endowed Chair and Professor in water policy at UW-Milwaukee’s School of Freshwater Sciences.  

Over the next year, Emma and Peyton will produce original legal research and work with the Center’s external partners to analyze U.S. water issues, evaluate policy options, and inform decision makers. This fellowship is designed to provide recent law school graduates with critical experience in the field of academic research and water policy development. 

Emma earned a Juris Doctorate at the University of Minnesota School of Law. Emma is excited to apply her background in environmental law to her work at the Center and contribute to the Center’s research on resource management of the Great Lakes. Emma will also be managing the Freshwater Collaborative of Wisconsin Water Policy Network to bring together water policy experts from across the Universities of Wisconsin.

Peyton earned a Juris Doctorate from Marquette University Law School. Peyton brings her background in environmental science and environmental policy, and one of her research focuses at the Center is the emerging regulatory landscape for Great Lakes offshore wind energy.

Cami received her Bachelor of Science from Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences in Environment & Sustainability. She has collaborated with the New York State Department of Environmental Conservation and the Cornell Center for Conservation Social Sciences to improve freshwater blue space management strategies for water quality. Cami is pursuing her Master of Science in the water policy thesis track at the School of Freshwater Sciences, and she’s utilizing those skills to develop science and policy communication and outreach strategies for the Center for Water Policy.  

Together, their collective expertise and varied backgrounds promise to elevate the Center’s research capacity, grant competitiveness, and community engagement.

Notre Dame Law School’s Journal on Emerging Technologies Published “Great Lakes Offshore Wind: Creating a Legal Framework for Net Positive Environmental, Social, and Financial Benefits”

Offshore wind is a renewable source of electricity that does not produce carbon emissions. Though less robust than that of other countries, the U.S. offshore wind industry is burgeoning. Most projects are sited more than 10 miles off the Atlantic coast to capture fast and reliable wind speeds. The Great Lakes are vast freshwater inland seas that also have high wind energy potential, but currently they have no operational offshore wind projects. The Icebreaker Wind pilot project in Lake Erie, off the coast of Cleveland, Ohio, proceeded as far as acquiring a lakebed lease before the developer announced an indefinite pause in December 2023.

In the oceans, the federal government has jurisdiction; the federal Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) leases the seabed for offshore wind projects. In the Great Lakes, however, states have jurisdiction over the lakebed as trustees of that public trust resource. Each state has its own process for lakebed leasing, and many are piecemeal in the offshore wind context as they do not expressly contemplate offshore wind energy development. The lack of legal infrastructure impedes decision-making that can effectively carry out state public trust duties to balance and protect the many public rights in using the Great Lakes. The regulatory uncertainty also deters the industry. We argue there is a need for laws that promote a net positive framework for offshore wind. Through legal design, government should go beyond the typical environmental law framework of avoid, reduce, and mitigate environmental harm; instead, government should select offshore wind projects based on how far they advance the triple bottom line with environmental, social, and financial benefits.

This law review article:

  • Provides an original review of all federal offshore wind leases issued by BOEM from 2010 through August 2023, to highlight the price terms and high bonuses paid to acquire the leases;
  • Examines uses of non-price criteria—criteria that provide net-positive benefits to the environment and society—in other regions: the Netherlands in Europe, and Maryland in the U.S.;
  • Assesses states’ public trust duties, explores different models for the use of revenues generated from leasing public trust resources, and applies those examples to the Great Lakes context; and
  • Recommends regional collaboration, renewable energy goal setting, and price and non-price criteria that Great Lakes states should prioritize if they pursue this renewable energy source.

Read the research:

Andrian Lee, Melissa Scanlan and Cora Sutherland, Great Lakes Offshore Wind: Creating a Legal Framework for Net Positive Environmental, Social, and Financial Benefits, .

James Wasley Named 2024-25 Water Policy Scholar

The Center for Water Policy is pleased to announce James Wasley as the 2024-25 Water Policy Scholar. Wasley is a professor of architecture at the University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. 

°Őłó±đ Water Policy Scholars program brings policy researchers across the Universities of Wisconsin together with freshwater scientists to frame policy questions and adapt tools to address water resource issues. The program is intended to increase the Center for Water Policy’s capacity to develop interdisciplinary and sustainable solutions to freshwater problems.Ěý

As a Water Policy Scholar, Professor Wasley’s research project Possible Future Uses of the Port of Milwaukee’s Dredged Material Disposal Facilities – a Test Case for the Great Lakes Green/ Blue Infrastructure Design Research + Practice Network will explore the question: “What possible ecologically progressive futures can we imagine for Milwaukee’s Dredged Material Disposal Facilities (DMDFs) at Jones Island?” These two facilities, one nearing capacity and one newly created, are representative of the network of dredge-spoil facilities associated with Great Lakes ports. The collective scale and pivotal locations of these created lands places their future squarely within one of ten Grand Water Challenges identified by the : Great Lakes Management and Restoration. This question also serves as a test case for a second question that Professor Wasley has been engaged with since his 2017-18 Water Policy Fellowship: “Is it possible to create a viable network of academic researchers, design related professionals, government officials and other interested parties to promote innovation in nature-based design solutions addressing problems of Great Lakes Cities?”  

Building on the 2019 National Sciences Foundation Sustainable Urban Systems Workshop “Reimagining Water: Linking Sustainable Urban Water Systems in the Great Lakes Basin,” held at 51ÁÔĆć, and the 2022 Great Lakes Higher Education Consortium Workshop “Reimagining Water II: The Future of Blue-Green Infrastructure in the Great Lakes Basin” held at the University of Toronto, the work of this fellowship will be to convene a meeting of experts on issues associated with the DMDFs and representing the steering committee of the nascent Great Lakes Green/ Blue Infrastructure Design Research + Practice Network.ĚýThe immediate deliverable will be a paper placing the Milwaukee DMDF in a basin-wide context, inventorying existing examples of closure and conversion, and speculating on additional possibilities. The larger goal is to identify possible funding sources for “Reimagining Water III.”Ěý

James Wasley is a Professor in the 51ÁÔĆć Architecture Department and is a Director of the Institute for Ecological Design. He is also an Affiliate Professor at the 51ÁÔĆć School of Freshwater Sciences. His research focuses on designing and implementing ecological urban waterscapes. Grounded in the Great Lakes, this research has recently expanded to include a comparative focus on the restoration of the Emscher River in the Ruhr region of Germany and on green/blue infrastructure in German urban design. 

Lead Water Pipes Created a Health Disaster in Flint, but Replacing Them With Cheaper Plastic – As Some Cities Are Doing – Carries Hidden Costs

Water Policy Specialist Rajpreet Grewal, Director Melissa Scanlan, and 51ÁÔĆć-SFS Professor Laodong Guo recently discussed the potential human and environmental health impacts of a popular lead pipe replacement material – plastic – with The Conversation.

Ěý–ĚýThe Conversation