Environment
Canoeist denied Grand River shore access has no right to sue, court says
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By ERIC FREEDMAN
Capital News Service
LANSING — A nonprofit environmental group had the right to deny a canoeist access to its shoreline property to test for contamination in Grand River sediments near Jackson, the Court of Appeals has ruled. The three-judge panel unanimously rejected arguments by Peter Bormuth of Jackson that the Grand River Environmental Action Team — known as GREAT — had breached a fiduciary duty, meaning a duty of trust, with him. The Grand River, Michigan’s longest, flows westward for about 260 miles from its headwaters in Jackson County, through Lansing and Grand Rapids, before emptying into Lake Michigan at Grand Haven. Fifteen counties are in its watershed, including Ottawa, Montcalm, Mecosta and Kent. In March 2013, the state transferred the six-acre parcel in Blackman Township to GREAT, which intends to build a public boat launch there, according to court filings.