Order Michigan Supreme Court
Lansing, Michigan
June 23, 2009 Marilyn Kelly,
Chief Justice
135898 & (56) Michael F. Cavanagh
Elizabeth A. Weaver
Maura D. Corrigan
Robert P. Young, Jr.
Stephen J. Markman
SIERRA CLUB MACKINAC CHAPTER, Diane M. Hathaway,
Plaintiff-Appellee, Justices
v SC: 135898
COA: 269181
Ingham CC: 05-000979-AA
DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL
QUALITY,
Defendant-Appellant.
_________________________________________/
On order of the Court, the motion for admission pro hac vice is GRANTED. The
application for leave to appeal the January 15, 2008 judgment of the Court of Appeals is
considered, and it is DENIED, because we are not persuaded that the questions presented
should be reviewed by this Court.
MARKMAN, J. (dissenting).
This case involves Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) regulations
concerning how Michigan’s nearly 200 large animal farms, referred to as “concentrated
animal-feeding operations (CAFOs)” must dispose of vast amounts of manure. This case
produced a published Court of Appeals opinion with a dissent, and the DEQ now appeals,
arguing that the Court of Appeals: (a) improperly reviewed the Environmental Protection
Agency’s approval of a state permit program, which it asserts is exclusively reserved for
federal courts; and (2) mistakenly held that comprehensive nutrient management plans
that must be submitted to the DEQ by CAFOs constituted an effluent limitation. The
issues in this case are jurisprudentially significant and important for the agricultural
economy of this state. Therefore, I would grant leave to appeal to consider these and
other arguments.
CORRIGAN, J., joins the statement of MARKMAN, J.
I, Corbin R. Davis, Clerk of the Michigan Supreme Court, certify that the
foregoing is a true and complete copy of the order entered at the direction of the Court.
June 23, 2009 _________________________________________
0616 Clerk