Michigan Laws 324.20135 – Civil action; jurisdiction; conditions; notice; awarding costs and fees; rights not impaired; venue
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(1) Except as otherwise provided in this part, a person, including a local unit of government on behalf of its citizens, whose health or enjoyment of the environment is or may be adversely affected by a release from a facility or threat of release from a facility, other than a permitted release or a release in compliance with applicable federal, state, and local air pollution control laws, by a violation of this part or a rule promulgated or order issued under this part, or by the failure of the directors to perform a nondiscretionary act or duty under this part, may commence a civil action against any of the following:
(a) An owner or operator who is liable under section 20126 for injunctive relief necessary to prevent irreparable harm to the public health, safety, or welfare, or the environment from a release or threatened release in relation to that facility.
Terms Used In Michigan Laws 324.20135
- Attorney general: means the department of the attorney general. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
- Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
- Department: means the director or his or her designee to whom the director delegates a power or duty by written instrument. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
- Directors: means the directors or their designees of the departments of environmental quality, community health, agriculture and rural development, and state police. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
- Facility: means any area, place, parcel or parcels of property, or portion of a parcel of property where a hazardous substance in excess of the concentrations that satisfy the cleanup criteria for unrestricted residential use has been released, deposited, disposed of, or otherwise comes to be located. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
- Fund: means the cleanup and redevelopment fund established in section 20108. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
- in writing: shall be construed to include printing, engraving, and lithographing; except that if the written signature of a person is required by law, the signature shall be the proper handwriting of the person or, if the person is unable to write, the person's proper mark, which may be, unless otherwise expressly prohibited by law, a clear and classifiable fingerprint of the person made with ink or another substance. See Michigan Laws 8.3q
- Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
- Litigation: A case, controversy, or lawsuit. Participants (plaintiffs and defendants) in lawsuits are called litigants.
- local unit: means a municipality or county. See Michigan Laws 324.301
- Operator: means a person who is in control of or responsible for the operation of a facility. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
- Owner: means a person who owns a facility. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
- Permitted release: means 1 or more of the following:
(i) A release in compliance with an applicable, legally enforceable permit issued under state law. See Michigan Laws 324.20101Person: means an individual, partnership, corporation, association, governmental entity, or other legal entity. See Michigan Laws 324.301 person who is liable: includes a person who is described as being subject to liability in section 20126. See Michigan Laws 324.20101 Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit. Release: includes , but is not limited to, any spilling, leaking, pumping, pouring, emitting, emptying, discharging, injecting, escaping, leaching, dumping, or disposing of a hazardous substance into the environment, or the abandonment or discarding of barrels, containers, and other closed receptacles containing a hazardous substance. See Michigan Laws 324.20101 Rule: means a rule promulgated pursuant to the administrative procedures act of 1969, 1969 PA 306, MCL 24. See Michigan Laws 324.301 state: when applied to the different parts of the United States, shall be construed to extend to and include the District of Columbia and the several territories belonging to the United States; and the words "United States" shall be construed to include the district and territories. See Michigan Laws 8.3o this part: includes "rules promulgated under this part". See Michigan Laws 324.20101 threat of release: means any circumstance that may reasonably be anticipated to cause a release. See Michigan Laws 324.20101
(b) A person who is liable under section 20126 for a violation of this part or a rule promulgated under this part or an order issued under this part in relation to that facility.
(c) One or more of the directors if it is alleged that 1 or more of the directors failed to perform a nondiscretionary act or duty under this part.
(2) The circuit court has jurisdiction in actions brought under subsection (1)(a) to grant injunctive relief necessary to protect the public health, safety, or welfare, or the environment from a release or threatened release. The circuit court has jurisdiction in actions brought under subsection (1)(b) to enforce this part or a rule promulgated or order issued under this part by ordering such action as may be necessary to correct the violation and to impose any civil fine provided for in this part for the violation. A civil fine recovered under this section shall be deposited in the fund. The circuit court has jurisdiction in actions brought under subsection (1)(c) to order 1 or more of the directors to perform the nondiscretionary act or duty concerned.
(3) An action shall not be filed under subsection (1)(a) or (b) unless all of the following conditions exist:
(a) The plaintiff has given at least 60 days’ notice in writing of the plaintiff’s intent to sue, the basis for the suit, and the relief to be requested to each of the following:
(i) The department.
(ii) The attorney general.
(iii) The proposed defendants.
(b) The state has not commenced and is not diligently prosecuting an action under this part or under other appropriate legal authority to obtain injunctive relief concerning the facility or to require compliance with this part or a rule or an order under this part.
(4) An action shall not be filed under subsection (1)(c) until the plaintiff has given in writing at least 60 days’ notice to the directors of the plaintiff’s intent to sue, the basis for the suit, and the relief to be requested.
(5) In issuing a final order in an action brought pursuant to this section, the court may award costs of litigation, including reasonable attorney and expert witness fees to the prevailing or substantially prevailing party if the court determines that an award is appropriate.
(6) This section does not affect or otherwise impair the rights of any person under federal, state, or common law.
(7) An action under subsection (1)(a) or (b) shall be brought in the circuit court for the circuit in which the alleged release, threatened release, or other violation occurred. An action under subsection (1)(c) shall be brought in the circuit court for Ingham county.