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STAR TOWNSHIP - On the heels of an Aug. 1 decision that denied an appeal of an injection well permit, opponents of the permit have filed a lawsuit in circuit court.

"We're quite disappointed," said Richard Steel, supervisor of Star Township in Antrim County. "We had a township board meeting last night (Aug. 6) and the board decided to continue to the next legal step."

Attorney Susan Hlywa Topp of Gaylord filed the lawsuit in the 30th Judicial Circuit Court for Ingham County in Lansing on Friday, Aug. 7. She represents the appellants Star Township, Antrim County, Friends of the Jordan River Watershed and several individuals, Rhonda Lee O'Connell, Cheryl Darrah and Robert Massey Jr.

The lawsuit names the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the supervisor of Mineral Wells, who is within the MDEQ, as appellees in the case.

The permit issued on Feb. 7 by the MDEQ allows CMS Energy and its subsidiary the Beeland Group to drill for a waste disposal well on land near Alba in Star Township. CMS intends to transport leachate, a contaminant, from Bay Harbor resort near Petoskey to the planned underground well in Star Township. CMS Energy's land division is responsible for the cement kiln dust clean up because it has a financial interest in the resort land. Leachate is a toxin that is formed when water mixes with cement kiln dust.

Bay Harbor resort was built on the site of a former cement plant that operated from 1870-1980. When the plant was closed and dismantled, 2.5 million cubic yards of cement kiln dust remained on the land, according to a CMS Web site.

The appellants say that if the leachate spills or leaks it may get into groundwater and contaminate not only the Jordan Valley watershed, but also Little Traverse Bay and Grand Traverse Bay watersheds.

Supervisor Steel has said that if something goes wrong, such as the well cracking resulting in leachate leaking out, that there would be no way to correct it. It could devastate agriculture, tourism and drinking water, he said.

Because the leachate has the pH of bleach as well as heavy metals such as mercury, the damage could be irreversible, said Steel.

MDEQ spokesperson Bob McCann in Lansing said on Monday that the department is aware of the circuit court action and has several weeks to respond.

"We anticipated that this would be the next course of action. The Administrative Law Judge saw the need to file in circuit court so this action was expected," said McCann.

"We're confident that according to the law we made the right decision," he added referring to the issuance of the permit for the well.

McCann said the MDEQ understands the concerns of the appellants about disposing of the leachate, but that "it's the best option on the table currently." "We're looking at any and all options and we have a lot of work to do," said McCann. He said the well is an interim step to stop the worst of the contamination.

But that is not the opinion of the Friends of the Jordan River Watershed, one of the appellants. The group proposed a solution that would take place on the site of the Bay Harbor resort, said Friends'president Dr. John Richter.

The solution is to encapsulate the cement kiln dust piles entirely so that no water reaches them, because the kiln dust becomes toxic only when water mixes with it.

Richter said that the legislators and the governor's office could use their influence and authority to prevent the dumping of toxic waste into an injection well in Star Township.

Many citizens of Star Township and of Antrim County have attended hearings and meetings to voice their concerns and their opposition to an injection well to hold leachate.

Calls for comments by CMS Energy were not returned before press time.

Appellants'application to appeal the federal Environmental Protection Agency's permit for the well is still pending.

B. J. Hetler may be reached at 231-622-2645 or at citizen@voyager.net.