Win! Victory in Wisconsin: State Supreme Court Affirms that Polluters Pay for Spills
In a huge victory for public health, taxpayers, and polluter accountability, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that the Department of Natural Resources can force landowners to clean up spilled emerging contaminants before they have been legally named a hazardous substance. This decision ensures that Wisconsin’s 50-year-old “spill laws” hold offenders accountable for their pollution even if the substance lacks an official hazardous classification. This ensures that years-long bureaucratic procedures for classifying contaminants, including PFAS (perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances), do not delay pollution clean-up. Learn more about PFAS with Freshwater Future’s handout and resources.
Win! Toronto Passes Road Salt Ordinance to Protect Water and Ecosystems
Great Lakes Network member Rescue Lake Simcoe Coalition and its fellow members of the Ontario Salt Pollution Coalition can add Toronto to their list of 17 towns and cities where they’ve successfully advocated for improvements to salt practices to protect local water and ecosystems. While Toronto is Canada’s biggest city, these advocates appreciate all the small towns adding their voices too! They are all asking the province of Ontario to create a single set of best practices for salt application, to create a legal framework to limit liability for the snow and ice management sector, and to create a committee to tackle salt pollution from an ecological perspective. The resolutions passed by municipal Councils also commit their towns to minimize the use of road salt. If your organization is addressing salt pollution in your community, email Alana@freshwaterfuture.org to join the Road Salt Subnetwork of the Great Lakes Network.
Save the Date: Water Is Life Festival – August 30, 2025
Join us in Petoskey, Michigan at the annual Water Is Life Festival, a Freshwater Future sponsored project, for a free, family-friendly celebration of our connection to each other, with and through water, and to build community to protect our beloved fresh water. Ready to enjoy some amazing music, art, and food? Registration is now open for attendees, vendors, and volunteers. Whether or not you can attend, consider donating, too, to support the festival! See you there – Bimaadiziwin Nibi | Water is Life!
