ELR Citation: ELR 20219
No(s). 07-11116 (E.D. Mich. Aug 15, 2007)

A district court dismissed international shipping entities' lawsuit seeking to invalidate Michigan's Ballast Water Statute, which is aimed to prevent the introduction of aquatic nuisance species into the Great Lakes. The statute requires all oceangoing vessels to obtain permits from the state if they wish to use Michigan ports. The court lacked jurisdiction over the entities' state-law claims, since under the Eleventh Amendment a state official may not be enjoined by a federal court on a state-law claim absent a state's consent. The entities' federal claims were dismissed for failure to state a claim. Their due process claim fails because it was clearly rational for Michigan to enact this statute in light of the environmental harms posed by aquatic nuisance species. Nor does the statute violate the Commerce Clause since it poses no discriminatory effect or undue burden on interstate commerce. And the statute is not preempted by federal law.