United States and Canadian water law and policy, as well as a discussion over whether Lake Erie is impaired, will be the focus of the 17th annual Great Lakes Water Conference this week at The University of Toledo College of Law.

The conference titled “The Trump and Trudeau Administrations on Water” will take place Friday, Nov. 3, from 8:30 a.m. to 3 p.m. in the Law Center McQuade Law Auditorium.

The one-day conference is sponsored by the UT College of Law and its Legal Institute of the Great Lakes.

“Newly elected leaders in the U.S. and Canada have promised changes in direction,” said Ken Kilbert, UT professor of law and director of the Legal Institute of the Great Lakes. “What that means for water law, policy and resources on both sides of the border will be explored by two expert panels.”

The keynote speaker will be Patricia Morris, director of the Great Lakes Section of the International Joint Commission, at 8:45 a.m.

The first panel at 9:15 a.m. will focus on the administration of President Donald Trump and features speakers from the Natural Resources Defense Council, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Wayne State University Law School.

The second panel at 11 a.m. will look at the administration of Prime Minister Justin Trudeau and features speakers from the Ontario Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change, Forum for Leadership on Water, and the University of Calgary Law School.

A third panel at 1:30 p.m. will explore the controversy over whether Lake Erie should be designated “impaired” under the federal Clean Water Act and highlight steps Ohio and Michigan are taking to reduce phosphorus loading and algae in the lake. The panel includes speakers from the Ohio Environmental Protection Agency, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, Environmental Law and Policy Center, and the UT College of Law.

The one-day conference is free to the public. Attorneys can earn 4.5 hours of Ohio Continuing Legal Education for $75.

For more information, go to utoledo.edu/law/academics/ligl/conferences.html.

Tags: College of Law