The Michigan Supreme Court has granted mini-oral argument in South Dearborn Environmental Improvement Association Inc. v. Department of Environmental Quality, No. 326485 on the questions of (1) whether MCL 324.5505(8) and MCL 324.5506(14) prescribe the applicable time period for filing a petition for judicial review of the Department of Environmental Quality’s (“DEQ”) issuance of a permit to install control equipment, and (2) if not, whether the issuance of that permit was a decision of that agency subject to the contested case provisions of the Administrative Procedures Act, such that the 60-day period for filing a petition for judicial review set forth in MCR 7.119 applies.
Fifty-nine days after several permits were issued to AK Steel Corporation authorizing the building and installation of certain control devices, South Dearborn Environmental Improvement Association appealed the DEQ’s issuance of these permits. The Court of Appeals determined that MCR 7.119 governed, requiring appeals to be filed within 60 days of the granting of a permit to install certain control equipment. Since South Dearborn had appealed within the 60-day period, the denial of AK Steel’s motion to dismiss was upheld.
To read our previous analysis of the Court of Appeals' opinion, click here.
