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Citizen Participation
State Closes the Door
By Hans Voss

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Gauging the Consequences
Efforts to raise barriers to public involvement are producing harmful results across a wide range of state
actions involving natural resources. Here are just a few cases, all related to oil and gas development:
• November 1993: The Department of Natural Resources privately negotiates an agreement with the oil
and gas industry that allows energy companies to deduct more than $8 million per year for three years in
operating expenses, known as "post production costs," before paying state royalties.
The agreement, which was made without any chance for public comment, is rescinded in 1996 after
citizens mount a determined campaign to end the practice.
• May 1996: Judge Richard LaCasse, an Engler-appointed administrative law judge, prevents citizens from raising
environmental arguments at a hearing on Walter Zaremba's proposal to drill the first natural gas well on state forest
land in the protected Jordan River Valley. Considering only economic arguments, Judge LaCasse grants the go-ahead
to pursue a state permit.
• September 1996 to August 1998: The DEQ Geological Survey Division rejects two separate requests for
public hearings concerning a proposed natural gas well, containing potentially harmful levels of poisonous
hydrogen sulfide, in a residential section of Filer Township in Manistee County.
Concerned about health and safety risks, the township files suit in Circuit Court. Judge James Batzer finds
the suit to be an appropriate exercise of a local government's authority to protect its citizens, and orders the
well shut down.
Public Involvement Makes Better GovernmentA decade ago, when citizens had forums to participate in state decision-making, these conflicts probably
would not have occurred. The contrast between the current approach of concentrating power within the
executive branch and the more open style used by previous governors is striking.
In 1974, Gov. William G. Milliken raised the process to its highest level when he created the Michigan
Environmental Review Board, a panel of citizens, scientists, and state officials that enabled the public to
participate in deciding Michigan's most prominent and controversial issues. The independence of the Board
and its active citizen involvement helped Michigan make informed, thorough policy decisions on oil drilling
in the Pigeon River State Forest, air pollution in Detroit, wastewater treatment in Muskegon, and statewide
nuclear waste disposal. (Gov. Engler eliminated this panel's successor, the Council on Environmental Quality,
in 1991.)
According to Bill Cooper, a Michigan State University toxicology professor who chaired the panel for 14
years, it worked because it weighed community concerns alongside technical data.
"It was a public forum where the average person off the street could challenge a bureaucrat without hiring
a lawyer or going through administrative hearings," recalls Prof. Cooper. "It made for better government and
better policies." G
CONTACTS: Gov. John Engler, State Capitol, P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, MI 48909-7973, 517-373-3400;
Dave Dempsey, Michigan Environmental Council, 119 Pere Marquette Dr., Suite 2A, Lansing, MI 48912,
517-487-9539; Don Inman, Michigan Resource Stewards, 248 Hawthorne Ranch Rd., Prudenville, MI 48651,
517-366-6019; Prof. Bill Cooper, Institute for Environmental Toxicology, C231 Holden Hall, Michigan State
University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1206, 517-353-6469; Hans Voss at the Institute, 616-882-4723.



Citizen Participation State Closes the Door By Hans Voss
		(continued from previous page)
	Gauging the Consequences Efforts to raise barriers to public involvement are producing harmful results across a wide range of state actions involving natural resources. Here are just a few cases, all related to oil and gas development: • November 1993: The Department of Natural Resources privately negotiates an agreement with the oil and gas industry that allows energy companies to deduct more than $8 million per year for three years in operating expenses, known as "post production costs," before paying state royalties. The agreement, which was made without any chance for public comment, is rescinded in 1996 after citizens mount a determined campaign to end the practice. • May 1996: Judge Richard LaCasse, an Engler-appointed administrative law judge, prevents citizens from raising environmental arguments at a hearing on Walter Zaremba's proposal to drill the first natural gas well on state forest land in the protected Jordan River Valley. Considering only economic arguments, Judge LaCasse grants the go-ahead to pursue a state permit. • September 1996 to August 1998: The DEQ Geological Survey Division rejects two separate requests for public hearings concerning a proposed natural gas well, containing potentially harmful levels of poisonous hydrogen sulfide, in a residential section of Filer Township in Manistee County. Concerned about health and safety risks, the township files suit in Circuit Court. Judge James Batzer finds the suit to be an appropriate exercise of a local government's authority to protect its citizens, and orders the well shut down. Public Involvement Makes Better GovernmentA decade ago, when citizens had forums to participate in state decision-making, these conflicts probably would not have occurred. The contrast between the current approach of concentrating power within the executive branch and the more open style used by previous governors is striking. In 1974, Gov. William G. Milliken raised the process to its highest level when he created the Michigan Environmental Review Board, a panel of citizens, scientists, and state officials that enabled the public to participate in deciding Michigan's most prominent and controversial issues. The independence of the Board and its active citizen involvement helped Michigan make informed, thorough policy decisions on oil drilling in the Pigeon River State Forest, air pollution in Detroit, wastewater treatment in Muskegon, and statewide nuclear waste disposal. (Gov. Engler eliminated this panel's successor, the Council on Environmental Quality, in 1991.) According to Bill Cooper, a Michigan State University toxicology professor who chaired the panel for 14 years, it worked because it weighed community concerns alongside technical data. "It was a public forum where the average person off the street could challenge a bureaucrat without hiring a lawyer or going through administrative hearings," recalls Prof. Cooper. "It made for better government and better policies." G CONTACTS: Gov. John Engler, State Capitol, P.O. Box 30013, Lansing, MI 48909-7973, 517-373-3400; Dave Dempsey, Michigan Environmental Council, 119 Pere Marquette Dr., Suite 2A, Lansing, MI 48912, 517-487-9539; Don Inman, Michigan Resource Stewards, 248 Hawthorne Ranch Rd., Prudenville, MI 48651, 517-366-6019; Prof. Bill Cooper, Institute for Environmental Toxicology, C231 Holden Hall, Michigan State University, East Lansing, MI 48824-1206, 517-353-6469; Hans Voss at the Institute, 616-882-4723.