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April 4, 2004Will Clous define LaBelle?NMEAC chair says in letter he thinks soByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - A group of environmentalists say Grand Traverse County Prosecutor Dennis LaBelle's legacy could be defined by how he handles the final court case against developer Bill Clous. "This case is about an unprecedented assault on our region's natural resources," wrote John Nelson, chair of the Northern Michigan Environmental Action Council, in a March 30 letter to LaBelle. "This case will stand as one of the milestones of your career." Nelson said his group wants stiff fines and an admission of wrongdoing from Clous, who is accused of soil erosion and wetland violations on his East Bay Township property in the Mitchell Creek Watershed. Clous, president of Eastwood Custom Homes, maintains earth-moving and tree-clearing activities on the 360-acre property between Hammond, Three Mile and Townline roads were related to farming and exempt from permit requirements. In the NMEAC letter, Nelson said Clous' fines should be in the seven-figure range, "comparable to the dollar benefits (Clous) would stand to gain through the conversion of 90 acres of wetlands." Clous and his attorney, Matthew Vermetten, dispute the size of wetlands and deny that Clous wants to develop the property as a subdivision. Vermetten was not available for comment last week. Another attorney working on the case, Troy Stewart, did not return a message seeking comment. LaBelle said Nelson and NMEAC, along with other observers, have confused two aspects of the case. LaBelle settled a case over Clous' failure to obtain a soil erosion permit for $75,000 in payments and in-kind services last month, prompting criticism from some environmental groups. Despite earlier assertions that he would seek a fine of up to $450,000 in the case, LaBelle said he is not certain he could have won fines over $25,000 had he proceeded to a bench trial, because $25,000 is the jurisdictional limit of district court. LaBelle said he also worried that seeking a big fine against Clous could have given county officials the idea they could balance budgets by going after environmental scofflaws. "They're looking for ways to raise revenue apart from general taxation," LaBelle said. Clous still faces action from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality for alleged wetlands violations, infractions LaBelle insists are much more serious than Clous' failure to get a permit for earth-moving on his property. "I don't know of anybody else that's ever collected $75,000 on a soil erosion violation," LaBelle said. "I think everybody's got the impression that I'm in charge of the wetlands violation, and I'm not." LaBelle said he cannot collect a fine from Clous even if he wins a pending circuit court case that seeks to force Clous to implement environmental controls and restore wetlands. That's not good enough for Nelson. "If that's the case (that the circuit court case cannot result in fines), then we shouldn't have settled in district court," he said. "We feel the sanctions ought to be proportionate to the degradation." Nelson said NMEAC plans to send a similar letter to the DEQ. LaBelle, who announced last month he would retire as prosecutor at the end of the year, said he is not concerned that some may judge his career by one case. "I just think of these as, this is my job and this is the case that I've done today and it has to get done," he said.
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