The Court of Appeals has denied Worth Township's Motion for Stay of the Final Order issued by Circuit Court Judge Joyce A. Draganchuk on December 23, 2008, that required the Township to take responsibility for abating the discharge of raw human sewage occurring at numerous locations within the Township. On January 8, 2009, the Township filed an appeal in the Court of Appeals after Judge Draganchuk ruled in favor of the Department of Environmental Quality.

The Township is now required to submit to the DEQ for approval a description of the proposed service area identified by the DEQ no later than May 1, 2009, as the first step in addressing the discharge of raw human sewage within the Township. The Final Order also requires the Township to provide to the DEQ a preliminary engineering report and basis of design for the project, chosen by the Township, as the corrective action by December 1, 2009. The Final Order also has other interim dates and requires the Township to begin operating the project in accordance with all legal requirements by September 1, 2013.

The DEQ filed the lawsuit on July 18, 2007, after the Township refused to undertake the necessary steps to stop the unauthorized discharge of human sewage originating from the widespread failure of septic tanks and tile systems within the Township boundaries. DEQ Director Steven E. Chester hopes that this latest court decision will compel the township to work with the DEQ to undertake the necessary steps to protect the health of the community and the waters of the state.

"This continued discharge of sewage is a threat to the environment and the health of the families in Worth Township," said Director Chester. "It is time to begin to work on correcting this ongoing problem."

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

"Protecting Michigan's Environment, Ensuring Michigan's Future"

Revised March 17, 2009 by Pat Watson