GREAT LAKES COALITION
Michigan/Lake Michigan Chapter For Shoreline Preservation
P.O. Box 429 Saugatuck, Michigan 49453 TEL (269) 857-8945 * FAX (269) 857-8945 www.iglc.org E-mail: info@iglc.org
Newsletter – Winter 2014 UNPRECEDENTED RISE IN LAKE LEVELS In January, 2013, an all-time record low level of 576.02 feet was set on Lake Michigan-Huron. However, since that time levels have risen significantly. October data show that Lake Michigan-Huron is now almost 3 feet higher than the record low. The current level of Lake Michigan-Huron is 4" above the Long Term Average. This is the first time in many years for Michigan-Huron; the other lakes have been above average for quite a while. Lake Superior will be dumping more water and predictions are for a rise of another foot. Precipitation is playing a role in water levels. Higher precipitation in the Fall causes higher levels. Evaporation is also playing a role as ice-covered lakes cannot evaporate. During the 2013-14 winter, 95% of the Great Lakes were frozen over with the last ice melting on Lake Superior on June 10, 2014. The Great Lakes are colder than last year by 6 degrees. Predictions are for ice formation earlier than last year and less evaporation.
LETTER TO THE IJC The Great Lakes Coalition has sent a letter to the International Joint Commission (IJC) thanking them for their foresight and good judgment in deciding several years ago to not recommend that barriers be installed immediately in the St. Clair River, even though some politicians and some interest groups like the Georgian Bay Association were clamoring for it at that time. If lake levels had been artificially raised 50 centimeters (20 inches) as per one proposal, they would be well above average today and poised to do irreparable damage to beaches and to shoreline bluffs and homes if we have another severe winter and the levels continue to rise, as some are predicting. The rapid rise in levels (about 2-1/2 feet in the last 20 months) has exposed the fallacy of the saying: "Don't worry. If levels go too high when barriers are in place, we could just remove them and let the extra water out." There have been no barriers in the last 20 months and yet water has not run out fast enough to prevent the rising levels. In fact, even if there was a way to let an extra 20 inches out of Lake Michigan-Huron, it would have been politically impossible. Lake Michigan-Huron has about 4-1/2 times as much surface area as Lake Erie, so if 20 inches could have been let out, it would have resulted in an inflow of about 90 inches or 7-1/2 feet into Lake Erie. That is not realistic. Recently, the International Joint Commission made a recommendation to governments to study the feasibility of placing barriers in the St. Clair River. With levels currently at or above average on all lakes, it would seem that, if a study is made, it should also include the feasibility of measures to alleviate possible high levels, too. The Great Lakes Coalition has requested a status report on their recommendation.
ANNUAL MEMBERSHIP MEETING The 2014 Annual Membership Meeting of the Michigan/Lake Michigan Chapter of the Great Lakes Coalition was held on Saturday, August 2, 2014 at the Haworth Inn and Conference Center on the campus of Hope College, Holland, Michigan. President Larry Robson introduced guest speaker, Jennifer G. Read, Ph.D., Director of the Water Center at the Graham Sustainability Institute, University of Michigan. Dr. Read began her presentation with a background of the Water Center at the University of Michigan, and proceeded to talk about water levels, adaptive management, and integrated assessment. The goal of the Water Center is to maintain sustainable freshwater ecosystems through applied science and research. The Water Center recently received a $4-1/2 million grant for restoration projects and through a transfer of knowledge can provide help to other freshwater systems. Dr. Read described the "Adaptive Management" approach using science and monitoring -- that is, plan, act, and monitor, so that they can evaluate, learn (and review) and adjust where necessary to improve. Benefits include generating reports and data, modifying perspectives, and forming friendships with stakeholders. A multi-sector advisory committee, the Great Lakes Water Levels Integrated Assessment Advisory Committee, is being formed and Coalition President Dr. Larry Robson has been asked to become a member. The first meeting will be held in early Fall. Technical teams will be formed to address questions and it will be a 12-18 month process for review of data and response. Dr. Read stated that the Water Center does not take positions, they use science to provide information. They can promote communication among groups (USACE, NRC, etc.) by getting the right people on the committee. Dr. Read concluded her presentation saying "We can't predict the future, but we can plan for it." A lively question-and-answer session followed with questions about sand supply (or lack of it), the impact of climate on lake levels, and the impact of piers and dams on sand supply. The directors and members present at the meeting emphasized the importance of making sure these items will be discussed by the advisory committee.
INTEGRATED ASSESSMENT OF ADAPTIVE MANAGEMENT STUDY PANEL As reported above, Coalition President Dr. Larry Robson was invited to become a member of the University of Michigan's Graham Sustainability Institute's "Integrated Assessment of Adaptive Management" study panel. The purpose of the study is to develop information about the changes in Great Lakes water levels, determine what are the environmental, social, political, non-structural impacts and how adaptive management techniques can be applied. The researchers are asking interested organizations to send out an online water level survey to their members. Responses will be analyzed by the college researchers and work will be completed by 2016. Coalition directors approved sending this survey out to our members and if you have an e-mail address listed with us, you probably have already received the survey and we thank all who participated.
COMMON LAW ACCRETION AND RELICTION Littoral owners have, in addition to the rights of the public, certain "special rights" with regard to the water and the foreshore, rights which are considered to be property. These include the right of access to the water, the right to use the water for certain purposes, the right to an unobstructed view of the water, and the right to receive accretions and relictions to the littoral property. Accretions are additions of alluvion (sand, sediment, or other deposits) to waterfront land; relictions are land once covered by water that become dry when the water recedes. In order for an addition to dry land to qualify as an accretion, it must have occurred gradually and imperceptibly -- that is, so slowly that one could not see the change occurring, though over time the change became apparent. When, on the other hand, there is a sudden or perceptible loss of or addition to the land by the action of the water or a sudden change in the bed of a lake or the course of a stream, the change is called an avulsion.
At common law, the littoral owner automatically takes title to dry land added to his property by accretion; but formerly submerged land that has become dry land by avulsion continues to belong to the owner of the seabed (usually the State). --excerpted from Stop the Beach Renourishment v. Florida 560 US 702, 8 & ( (6-17-2010) Quoting Supreme Court Justices Kennedy and Sotomayor in Stop the Beach: "The Takings Clause is an essential part of the constitutional structure, for it protects private property from expropriation without just compensation; and the right to own and hold property is necessary to the exercise and preservation of freedom." (734) The St. Joseph (Michigan) piers remove about one million cubic yards of sand per year from the littoral zone (between the still-water line and the 20' depth of closure) which should be accretions to littoral properties south of St. Joseph, MI.
UPDATE ON COOK NUCLEAR PLANT The Donald C. Cook Nuclear Power Plant located in Bridgman, Michigan recently completed a new earthquake- and tornado- proof building on site to house back-up equipment ranging from diesel-driven pumps and electric generators, ventilation fans, and cables, to communications gear. They are now fully compliant with upgrades and modifications required by the Nuclear Regulatory Commission as a result of the Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan. It is hoped that Coalition input contributed to this safety upgrade. --excerpted from St. Joseph, MI Herald Palladium article, Oct. 25, 2014
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Michigan/Lake Michigan Chapter-Great Lakes Coalition P. O. Box 429 Saugatuck, MI 49453 (269) 857-8945 We are a 501(C) (3) tax-exempt organization Contributions are deductible to the full extent of the law NAME______________________________________________________________________________ MAILING ADDRESS__________________________________________________________________ _____________________________________________________________________________________ LAKE PROPERTY ADDRESS IF DIFFERENT: _____________________________________________________________________________________ E-MAIL ADDRESS___________________________________________________________________________ SUGGESTED MEMBERSHIP CONTRIBUTION: _____$35
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GREAT LAKES COALITION
Michigan/Lake Michigan Chapter For Shoreline Preservation
P.O. Box 429 Saugatuck, Michigan 49453 TEL (269) 857-8945 * FAX (269) 857-8945 www.iglc.org
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MISSION STATEMENT The Great Lakes Coalition (GLC) concentrates on water levels; natural sand supply to beaches, dunes, and bluffs; and coastal management. The objective is to promote environmentally sound management of the coastal zone. Natural conditions have been changed by sometimes flawed government intervention and judgment. The GLC is a respected advocate for shoreline property owners that challenges inappropriate regulations and encourages beneficial government decisions.