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December 21, 2004Lawsuit doesn't hold waterBoyne City ordered to pay attorney feesBy Record-Eagle staff writer BOYNE CITY - A federal judge booted a lawsuit over a controversial plan to discharge wastewater into the Boyne River back to Charlevoix County circuit court. U.S. District Judge Gordon Quist also scolded Boyne City officials for bringing the case to federal court and ordered the city to pay attorney fees for Friends of the Boyne River. The grassroots citizens group sued the state Department of Environmental Quality this year over the plan to allow the city's new wastewater treatment facility to discharge into the river. The city intervened as a defendant in the lawsuit. Quist rejected city attorney Philip Erickson's argument that the case belonged in federal court. The judge said the case is centered around the Michigan Environmental Protection Act, not federal law or the U.S. Constitution. Friends' attorney T.J. Andrews said the city's effort to federalize the suit "seemed to be a way to delay action." "That the city is paying for both its lawyers and our lawyers is an unfortunate event for citizens," she said. Andrews said the Friends group's attorney fees amount to just over $5,000. The Friends group maintained the DEQ pushed for relocating city wastewater discharge to the river without doing required environmental impact studies. The city's existing system currently discharges into Lake Charlevoix. "Our point is Lake Charlevoix has had the discharge in it for 30 years; the Boyne River has never had discharge into it," Friends member Larry Maltby said. "Why the city wants to put that effluent in the river, then run it right through the center of town, past all of the downtown businesses, past where the tourists fish and the mouth of the marina, is a mystery." City manager Michael Cain said the city proposes a system that "meets or exceeds" all environmental requirements. "We have tough standards now, and we'll have them in the future," he said. "I think we are not doing anything that's going to have a negative effect on the river." Cain said the city is continuing work on the new wastewater treatment facilities, including a pump station to replace the current plant on the Lake Charlevoix shoreline, and a new main facility east of the city near the municipal airport. The circuit court case is likely to take many additional months, Andrews said. Cain said the city could reverse the new system to discharge into the lake if it ultimately lost the court battle.
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