June 29, 2026
Lansing, MI – Today, environmental groups filed a petition for leave to appeal in the Michigan Court of Appeals that asks the court to reverse a due process ruling handed down in state Circuit Court earlier this month involving an appeal of Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) general permit for Michigan concentrated animal feeding operations, or CAFOs. That decision followed more than 6 years of litigation initiated by the CAFOs which delayed implementation of a long overdue update to the water pollution permit that most CAFOs in the state must follow.
Today’s appeal by the Environmental Law & Policy Center, Food & Water Watch, Michigan Environmental Council, Flow Water Advocates, Alliance for the Great Lakes, Environmentally Concerned Citizens of South Central Michigan, Freshwater Future, and Michigan League of Conservation Voters claims the due process portion of the early June decision conflicts with binding precedent and rests on assumptions that are flatly contradicted by the record and historical reality. Specifically, Judge Richard J. Garcia of the Ingham County Circuit Court (Mason), invalidated necessary water quality protections added by Director Phillip Roos that prevents EGLE from issuing permits that “assure compliance with water quality standards” as required by the Michigan Supreme Court.
The intervenor group argues that invalidating these protections directly harm the public’s interest in “protection of the air, water and other natural resources of the state from pollution, impairment and destruction,” which the Michigan Constitution declares to be of “paramount importance.” Intervenors assert the harm inflicted by this decision could also have serious future implications if administrative law judges down the road rely on the Circuit Court’s baseless ruling that administrative law judges can’t add new terms to EGLE permits. As it stands, the current ruling effectively eradicates the rights of Michiganders to intervene in contested case challenges when EGLE permits are weak and ineffective.
Katie Garvey, Senior Attorney at the Environmental Law & Policy Center said: “Unless the Michigan Court of Appeals acts, Michigan’s waters will suffer from preventable CAFO pollution and members of the public will lose their right to have a voice in EGLE permitting decisions.”
Tyler Lobdell, Senior Attorney at Food & Water Watch said: “Factory farms are infringing on Michiganders’ Constitutional right to clean water. We will not let the Farm Bureau’s endless manipulation of the legal system stand in the way of a permitting regime that reins in their water pollution. The fight for clean water in Michigan is far from over.”
Angela Blatt, Senior Agriculture Policy Manager at Alliance for the Great Lakes said: “Another forecast of a moderate harmful algal bloom in Lake Erie is a reminder that we must use every tool available to reduce agricultural nutrient pollution and protect public health, clean drinking water, and the lake we all depend on.”