Leave to Appeal Denied June 23, 2009:

Court of Appeals No. 269181.

(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: (1) 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.