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November 27, 2005EditorialCox must still explain orange creek decisionsMichigan Attorney General Mike Cox, who often talks about making others accountable for their actions, must immediately explain to taxpayers why he has given Graceland Fruit Inc. and its owner Don Nugent a pass on potential felony pollution charges.It's a case that reeks of privilege and political connections - almost as much as the Benzie County creek fouled by waste from Nugent's fruit processing operation. After what appears to have been a cursory and slipshod review of substantial evidence that Graceland knowingly violated state dumping laws, Cox's office said there would be no charges. And won't say why. A Cox spokeswoman - the A.G. himself wouldn't talk about the case - refused to explain the legal reason for refusing charges. That left state Department of Environmental Quality investigators wondering what happened. The only explanation offered by Cox spokeswoman Melissia Christianson was that evidence provided by the DEQ after a 10-month investigation made for "a bad case; it just didn't meet criminal muster to prosecute." How Cox's office made that determination, however, is a mystery. In a one-paragraph e-mail to the DEQ announcing that Cox was refusing to press criminal charges, an assistant A.G. wrote that "After a review of the file and a site visit by the Attorney General's office, it has been decided not to seek prosecution at this time." The reality, however, is that when pressed for details, the A.G.'s office admitted the claimed site visit never happened. An assistant attorney general traveled to Benzie County to discuss the case, but the only people he met with were Graceland officials. Some review. DEQ Detective Sgt. Thomas Wingate and DEQ water division investigator Brian Myers, who looked into the illegal dumping, say they have no idea why Cox declined charges. Their investigation showed what they say is a clear and purposeful violation of environmental laws. Nugent needed to find a way to dispose of thousands of gallons of blueberry waste, which the DEQ later classified "liquid industrial waste." Officials at Frankfort's wastewater treatment plant refused to take it because it was too concentrated. A Frankfort septic hauler said he couldn't handle it under his septic hauling license. The DEQ says Graceland finally hired Bonney Bros. Septic Pumping of Honor, which Graceland knew or should have known couldn't legally handle the stuff. Bonney Bros. spread some on a farmer's field, but the farmer said there was a foul smell and wouldn't take any more. Nugent later told the DEQ that a farmer told him the waste had turned the farmer's grass black. Eventually, the DEQ says, Bonney Bros. dumped the stuff in a gravel pit; from there it got into the groundwater and then a nearby creek, which to this day is stained orange and smells like a sewer. The trout that once swam there are long gone. Even Cox's office acknowledges that something is amiss here. A Cox spokeswoman said his office is negotiating a settlement that will force a cleanup and create "substantial penalties." "The office is not letting anyone get off, quote-unquote, scot-free," the spokeswoman said. But this is the same Mike Cox who rode into office on a mantra of accountability - for deadbeat dads, anyway. Nugent appears to be another matter. He is a Michigan State University trustee and a contributor to the Republican Party and GOP causes. He calls himself a friend of fellow Republican Cox. State residents expect much more from their attorney general than this. He owes them a detailed explanation of why he declined criminal charges and why the case was deficient. Cox's involvement is now as tainted as the orange creek. People in northern Michigan care about their environment and take apparently purposeful pollution seriously. Whether their Attorney General does or not.
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