Environment

Judge says landowner filed drilling suit too late

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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING – An Alcona County man waited too long to sue an energy company that may have drilled a natural gas well too close to his property line, a federal judge has ruled. Much too long. U.S. District Judge Thomas Ludington said Richard Brilinski missed the deadline by waiting about 15 years to start the litigation. “Brilinski’s delay in bringing his claim is inexcusable,” Ludington said in his ruling. Brilinski’s lawyer, Corey Wiggins of Cadillac, said he doesn’t know yet whether there will be an appeal.

Environment

Court upholds $800,000 tab for leaking underground tanks

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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING – Michigan is owed more than $800,000 for cleanup costs, civil fines and administrative penalties for failure to properly remediate three sites with leaking underground storage tanks in Berrien County, the state Court of Appeals has ruled. The tab may rise if the state has to complete the long-delayed work, but the defendants have asked the Michigan Supreme Court to review the case. At issue are petroleum products that leaked from underground tanks at two gas stations and a bulk fuel distribution center in Galien and Baroda, west of Niles and north of the Indiana border. The sites still haven’t been cleaned, according to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ). According to the appeals court, Baroda-based Strefling Oil Co.

Environment

Realtor misled buyers of contaminated Lake Michigan condo, court says

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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING – A couple who bought a South Haven condo built on contaminated land two blocks from Lake Michigan is entitled to about $470,000 in damages from the Realtor and her real estate agency that handled the deal, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The Realtor who handled the deal knew that sales brochure information about environmental conditions at the 10-unit Factory Condominium redevelopment project – Belgravia – was false, the court said. Meryl Greene of Coldwell Banker Weber-Seiler Realtors also failed to tell purchasers Gary and Kathleen Bowman of Augusta that the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) had found the property still “highly contaminated with chlorinated solvents in the soil and groundwater, and metals in the near-surface soils.”
The abandoned building where the Bowmans’ condo is located had been a factory from 1916 to 1979 that made coffins, gun stocks, pipe organs and other products. According to legal documents and the DEQ, workers dumped industrial solvents, sludge and wastes from painting and plating that contained toxic materials – some linked to cancer – into the drains. A developer, who later declared bankruptcy, hired Greene to market the condos.

Environment

Pull down lake breakwalls to stop erosion, DEQ says

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BY JON GASKELL
Capital News Service
LANSING – Environmental experts are urging property owners to get rid of lakefront lawns and stone breakwalls in favor of a new approach to landscaping. Lakescaping is a way to control shoreline erosion by moving inland lakes to a more natural state. According to the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), replacing traditional sod lakefronts with native plants can also combat invasive species, improve wildlife habitats and save property owners money on upkeep. “When dealing with lakes, it’s important to have as minimal an impact as possible,” said John Skubinna of the DEQ’s water resources division. While property owners may be reluctant to obstruct lake views with tall vegetation, protecting lakes should trump aesthetic concerns, said Skubinna.