Conflict of interest issue raised at county planning commission

by Angie Asam– Staff Writer

At their January organizational meeting, the Presque Isle County planning commission asked attorney Mike Vogler to review his opinion on whether or not board member Byron DeLong had a conflict of interest. DeLong?s name appears on a lawsuit that was originally filed against the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and their director Steven E. Chester. DeLong?s name appears as a member of Citizens for Environmental Inquiry (CEI). The lawsuit was filed originally on Jan. 27, 2008 in response to a supreme court determination that carbon dioxide was a pollutant. CEI attorney Joseph P. Swallow then sent a letter to the DEQ stating that if carbon dioxide was a pollutant and their job was to protect everyone and that includes the air, the DEQ had better do something to regulate emissions of carbon dioxide.

After the original lawsuit was filed, Wolverine Power, Mid-Michigan Energy LLC and Consumers Energy joined the lawsuit as co-defendants with the DEQ, who felt they did not need to regulate carbon dioxide emissions. Since that meeting on Jan. 21, the lawsuit has been thrown out. Before the letter containing Vogler?s legal opinion was read the commission discussed the matter. Julian Pilarski asked DeLong if he would have ever filed the lawsuit if Wolverine never came to Rogers City to which he responded he would have. Pilarski wanted to know what prompted DeLong to file the lawsuit. ?It was the fact that the supreme court had said carbon dioxide is a pollutant. Michigan?s constitution says that we?re supposed to have clean air, so we filed a lawsuit. It wouldn?t have made any difference if Wolverine had never came here. It was something that needed to be answered,? said DeLong.

?My concern is that there does seem to be some impropriety in this, at least in appearance,? responded Pilarski. Board member Richard Wright then stated that he felt Wolverine certainly brought it to the forefront. ?No, I don?t think it was Wolverine that brought that to the forefront. We?ve been discussing that for some period of time. Our state had an obligation to do something. The lawsuit was filed against the DEQ for failure to do their job,? said DeLong. Chairman Mike Libby then prepared to read the letter even though he felt it was a mute point as the lawsuit was thrown out. He felt it should be on the record that an opinion was rendered.

Vogler?s opinion state

d ?Concerning Byron DeLong?s conflict of interest. On Feb. 9, 2010 the court of appeals issued its opinion in the case of CEI et al versus DEQ. The decision affirmed the Ingham County circuit courts dismissal of the complaint filed by Bryon DeLong and others against the DEQ. It is my opinion that the court of appeals decision has rendered moot the question of whether Mr. DeLong has a conflict of interest voting on issues coming before the planning commission involving Wolverine Power Supply Cooperative Incorporated. My opinion, however, presupposes that an appeal is not going to be made to the Michigan Supreme Court.?

?We are not appealing, at least the last I knew we were not,? said DeLong in response to Vogler?s opinion. No board members had questions or comments other than to state that if an appeal was to be made, they would be required to ask for yet another opinion concerning whether or not it was a conflict of interest.

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