OTHER RESOURCES

06.16.04 

By Patrick Sullivan
Traverse City Record-Eagle


TRAVERSE CITY - Attorneys who negotiated with developer Bill Clous to settle soil erosion and wetland violations in East Bay Township say a $140,000 penalty Clous agreed to pay is one of the biggest in northern Michigan.
     
But environmentalists who watched the case for two years say they fear the financial penalty is too low and won't deter Clous or other developers from committing similar violations.
     
A settlement between the state, Grand Traverse County and Clous was unveiled Tuesday. Clous agreed to pay a civil penalty in two $70,000 installments to the state, to put 68 acres of his 360-acre property into conservation easements and to enact numerous environmental protection measures.
     
"I think it's a better solution for the property than what we would have gotten at trial," said Christopher Bzdok, an environmental attorney retained to represent Grand Traverse County.
     
Peter Manning, an assistant attorney general who represented the Department of Environmental Quality, said the fine is among the largest in the state for wetland violations.
     
Manning said the most significant concession, however, is the agreement to establish conservation easements, which he said will ensure that environmentally critical sections of the property will be restored and preserved.
     
The settlement, spurred by 13th Circuit Court Judge Thomas Power's vow to begin a trial Tuesday if no settlement was reached, brings an end to enforcement action against Clous for environmental violations dating to 2002 at his property at Hammond, Three Mile and Townline roads.
     
Clous contends he cleared acres of trees and moved tons of soil with bulldozers to farm the property. Others believed he worked the property to prepare it for residential housing.
     
 In March, Clous agreed to settle a district court soil erosion violation case for payments of $75,000 in cash and in-kind services to Grand Traverse County.
     
Several environmentalists who attended Tuesday's hearing said they believe Clous got off easy.
     
"Three cases, three settlements, we've never had to sit through a trial - I'd say mission accomplished for Clous," said Monica Evans, chairwoman of the Traverse Group of the Sierra Club. "I don't think this is any kind of deterrent for Bill Clous or any of the big developers in the region."
     
But Evans said she trusts that Bzdok, an attorney who specializes in environmental law, did as well as he could.
     
 "Legally, it's the best we could have gotten, but environmentally, I'm still disappointed," Evans said.
     
Louis Blouin, an organizer for Sweetwater Alliance in Traverse City, said he is frustrated that a public comment period promised by the DEQ over settlement terms never took place.
     
"The big thing to scream about is there is no system for the public to impact these agreements. That needs to be fixed," Blouin said.
     
DEQ spokeswoman Patricia Spitzley, who last week said the agency was committed to offering a public comment period, said the department had to settle without public comment because of legal requirements.
     
"We are now looking at how we do these cases in the future so that we can build in some mechanism so that we can get public input," Spitzley said.
     
Those close to the case believe Clous' costs - including attorney fees and the cost of enacting restoration measures - are much higher than the $215,00 in money and services he agreed to pay.
     
Clous' attorney, Matthew Vermetten, said his client was pleased with the settlement.
     
Restoration measures include placement of sand traps in two trout streams running through the property, improvement of fish habitat in the streams and the planting of around 900 trees.
     
Grand Traverse County Drain Commissioner Susan Wilson-Broadus said she will be responsible for monitoring the restoration.
     
"As long as I'm here, I'll be watching," Wilson-Broadus said.