June 21, 2005

Ingham County Circuit Court Judge Joyce Draganchuk issued an opinion and ruling from the bench on May 17, 2005, granting all the requested relief to the plaintiffs in Cox et al. v Dwight L. Anderson. Attorney General Mike Cox, on behalf of the Department of Environmental Quality, filed a civil action in 2002 against Dwight Anderson after he took ownership of an unlicensed solid waste landfill in Rudyard Township, Chippewa County, in 1998 and refused to reach an administrative settlement with the DEQ to bring the landfill into compliance with Michigan’s environmental laws. The DEQ alleged that Anderson violated the law by his failure to properly close the landfill and to provide the state with financial assurance for the closure and for the care of the landfill afterward. The DEQ further alleged Anderson failed to remove and properly dispose of the landfill leachate, to monitor the groundwater at the landfill, and to monitor for methane from the landfill.

Judge Draganchuk found that Anderson, as the owner of the landfill, is subject to the requirements of state law regarding solid waste management and that he had failed to take any preventative and monitoring measures to protect the environment from harm due to the landfill. The court also found that the violations potentially pose a threat to the health and safety of the public and granted the DEQ’s request for an injunction from further violations of the state’s environmental laws at the landfill. The court ordered Anderson to properly close the landfill, take all actions necessary to comply with the other requirements of the law, and pay to the state $360,000 in civil fines and costs to be determined.

“This ruling sends a strong message to those who would disregard their responsibilities under the law to protect the environment and the health and safety of the public,” said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. “This ruling ensures that all of our landfills are held to the same standard.”

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

Revised June 21, 2005 by Pat Watson