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June 12, 2003EPA gives developer 90 days to fix situationBill Clous is accused of illegal fillingByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - The Environmental Protection Agency is "monitoring" a wetland dispute in East Bay Township and has given a local developer 90 days to resolve the issue or face possible federal sanctions. The EPA's top enforcement official for the Midwest has informed developer Bill Clous that his recent land clearing on a 300-acre site near Hammond and Townline roads "appears" to have included more than 20 acres of illegal wetland fill. According to a letter sent to Clous late last month by David Schulenberg, EPA senior enforcement officer, federal authorities are following the state's probe into the site work and may pursue its own set of penalties. The land clearing, which began last year, prompted an investigation by Grand Traverse County and state. The county prosecutor's office is looking into possible violations of the county's soil erosion and storm water ordinance. The Department of Environmental Quality is reviewing potential violations of state and federal wetland protection laws. Clous has claimed he's clearing the land for farming and has done the work under exemptions allowed by law. Schulenberg said that federal authorities have jurisdiction over the site because of its location within the Mitchell Creek watershed and its proximity to Grand Traverse Bay. The agency could consider administrative penalties of up to $137,500, he said, and could also ask the Justice Department to file suit in federal court that could include penalties of up to $27,500 per day of violation. Schulenberg said the EPA has been working with the state Attorney General's office on the alleged violations and has agreed to wait at least 90 days before pursuing federal action in the case "pending a satisfactory resolution of this matter with the state." "If you are unable or unwilling to resolve this matter by that time, (the EPA) will avail itself of its legal options," he wrote. Clous would not comment on the EPA issue when contacted Wednesday. His attorney, Matthew Vermetten, responded to the agency in a letter last week indicating that Clous "continues to focus on solid stewardship of his property through cognitive dialog with the (state) Attorney General and the MDEQ." The Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, meanwhile, is pressing county officials for tough enforcement. "This is really an important issue," NMEAC chairman Ken Smith said in a county commission committee meeting last week. "The public is outraged about it. It'll have a huge impact on the water quality of Mitchell Creek, and ultimately the bay."
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