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June 5, 2004Attorneys say settlement near in Clous caseDetails won't be released until terms are finalByRecord-Eagle staff writer TRAVERSE CITY - Attorneys for Bill Clous, the Michigan Attorney General, and Grand Traverse County tentatively agreed to settle a case of alleged environmental violations in East Bay Township. Details aren't yet public, but attorneys met all day Friday in hopes of resolving two cases against Clous - a civil lawsuit filed by the county that is scheduled to go to trial June 15, and wetland violations alleged by the Department of Environmental Quality. Susan Wilson-Broadus, the county's drain commissioner, said she was pleased by the possibility that the state and county cases against Clous could be resolved together. "We asked that it be done jointly, I mean we have dual interests in many areas, it certainly saves resources and money," Wilson-Broadus said Attorney Christopher Bzdok, who represents the county, said settlement details would not be released until it is completed, but he said the sides were close to an agreement. Circuit Judge Thomas Power gave the attorneys until June 11 to enter a consent agreement to settle the cases. Much of Friday was spent in a dispute over whether several of the 360 acres at the property at Hammond, Three Mile and Townline roads are wetlands. Bzdok arrived in court with a dogwood plant taken from those debated acres, a plant he said grows only in wetlands. Clous agreed in March to pay $75,000 in cash and services to settle a district court case. In that case Clous was accused of failing to get soil erosion permits for work performed on the property after the drain commissioner warned him they were necessary.
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