ELR Citation: ELR 21174
No(s). s. 79-74681, -74682 (E.D. Mich. Dec 9, 1993)

The court holds that the work identified in a sewage system evaluation survey (SSES) is part of a wastewater treatment and disposal system reconstruction project as originally contemplated and that the city and drainage district are to use the money remaining in original grant funds from the state and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) under the Federal Water Pollution Control Act (FWPCA) to fund construction of the work. The court construes the term "project" to refer to the entire Ecorse Creek Project, an effort by four Michigan cities to reconstruct the local wastewater treatment and disposal system to prevent further pollution of Ecorse Creek. The state and EPA had agreed to fund 80 percent of the project under grant provisions in the FWPCA. The SSES evaluated the effectiveness of the remedial work performed on the project. The court notes that all parties knew or should have known that the SSES would identify additional work necessary to complete the project to clean up and prevent further pollution of the creek. Moreover, the court's interpretation of "project" will not subject the agencies to open-ended demands for additional funding, because funding is limited to the required actions to relieve pollution in Ecorse Creek and to the amount the agencies have already allocated to the project.

[Previous decisions in this litigation are published at 11 ELR 21023 and 21057, 14 ELR 20237, and 22 ELR 20863.]

Counsel for Plaintiffs
Stephen F. Schuesler, Ass't Attorney General
Attorney General's Office
Law Bldg.
525 W. Ottawa St., P.O. Box 30212, Lansing MI 48909
(517) 373-1110

Counsel for Defendants
Michael H. Feiler
Feiler, Joelson, Laking & Rosenburg
32255 Northwestern Hwy., Ste. 145, Farmington Hills MI 48334
(313) 855-1205