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Jonathan W. Bulkley (1938-2019) was the University of Michigan's Professor Emeritus of Civil and Environmental Engineering and Peter M. Wege Endowed Professor Emeritus of Sustainable Systems in the School of Natural Resources and Environment (now the School for Environment and Sustainability). Bulkley's expertise in water resource management and water policy was sought in numerous lawsuits over the course of his career, most notably as special master (1978-1979) and monitor (1979-2009) in several cases regarding the failure of various Michigan organizations to comply with iterations of the 1972 Clean Water Act. He was also a member of the Ann Arbor, Mich. Housing Commission and served as its president in 1974-1976. This collection primarily documents Bulkley's legal and other professional activities and includes architectural drawings, clippings, correspondence, court proceedings and testimony, reports, legal documents, committee and meeting files, operating logs, notes, publications, and photographs. A small portion of records relates to Bulkley's work on the Ann Arbor Housing Commission. These records include records of meetings, policy statements, and staff materials documenting the work of the commission.

The Jonathan W. Bulkley papers primarily document Bulkley's involvement in several legal cases, including the 1977 lawsuit United States v. The City of Detroit (case number 77-71100) and the 1987 lawsuitU.S. v. Wayne County (case number 87-70992), both presided over by Judge John Feikens. These lawsuits concerned the failure of both the City of Detroit and Wayne County's wastewater treatment plants to adhere to the Federal Water Pollution Control Act and Clean Water Act. Judge Feikens was lauded for his handling of these cases, as he focused on negotiation and settlement, rather than unilateral judgement; the cases were resolved through complex consent judgements that were amended over time.

This collection also documents Bulkley's involvement in the Ann Arbor Housing Commission as well as various other academic and professional work he undertook throughout his career. Examples include his work in various smaller lawsuits, including one brought against the City of Toledo, Ohio by the U.S. (civil action number 3:91:CV7646), his involvement in the controversy over the removal of the Huron River's Argo Dam, and his work with the Michigan Environmental Science Board (MESB).

Materials in this collection include correspondence, maps, memos, reports, articles and clippings, notes, papers, court proceedings, testimony, and other legal materials, committee and meeting files, operating logs, course notes, architectural drawings, subject files, project plans, and photographs.

Researchers should note that due to the complex and intermingled nature of the various legal cases, some materials relating to the Detroit Water and Sewerage Department (DWSD) may be found in the Rouge River Watershed (RRW) series, and vice versa. When possible, materials have been kept in Bulkley's original groupings, and have been arranged in a rough chronological order.

Architect, professor and dean of the College of Architecture and Design of the University of Michigan. Professional papers, notebooks, sketches and architectural plans, and files on specific building projects, including work on the Flint campus of the University of Michigan, automobile parking structures, and miscellaneous Ann Arbor and University of Michigan buildings; also records of various state and national architectural accreditation and registration boards, especially the Michigan State Board of Registration for Architects, Professional Engineers, Land Surveyors; and photographs.

The collection has been divided into the following series: Biographical materials; Correspondence; Writings; Organizations; Projects; Miscellaneous; Diaries and other bound materials; and Photographs.

Republican mayor of Ann Arbor, Michigan, 1945-1957. The collection consists of topical files on Ann Arbor municipal issues, business records from his real estate and automobile sales ventures, scrapbooks, and photographs

The Brown papers have been arranged into the following series: Topical files; Other mayoralty papers (relating primarily to off-street parking); Scrapbooks; Business records; and Photographs. The Topical files are the largest portion of the collection and include correspondence, reports, newspaper clippings, and miscellanea concerning such issues as housing, the new city charter, off-street parking, the new Veterans Administration Hospital, planning for a new city hall, Brown's election campaigns, and the support given by Brown to Albert E. Cobo in his campaign for governor of Michigan in 1956. The scrapbooks, 1945-1962, contain newspaper clippings and other materials relating to his mayoralty.