A project that was promised $259 million in subsidies from Michigan taxpayers has violated state environmental laws before it has begun building, according to an April 8 violation notice.

The Michigan Department of Energy, Great Lakes, and Environment issued a violation notice to the company Maple & Hill LLC, which is preparing an area larger than 1,100 acres — more than 10 times the size of California's Disneyland — for sale to a mystery buyer. The company is doing the work for the Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance, which has so far received $139 million from the people of Michigan.

“EGLE advises all unauthorized activities occurring within regulated areas on this property stop,” the notice reads, instructing the developer to respond by May 5.

Courtesy of EGLE

The environmental agency inspected the site on March 18 and found the developer violated Part 301, Inland Lakes and Streams, of the Natural Resources Environmental Protection Act.

The developer installed a culvert and filled in the Lizard Valley Drain (a stream) to construct a stream crossing, placed rock fill in the Lizard Valley Drain to construct a check dam, and cut and removed vegetation along the Lizard Valley Drain and Warner Drain. All this happened, the state said, without the company having obtained the required permits.

Courtesy of EGLE

Michiganders accused of violating wetland laws can face a fine of $25,000 per day, Michigan Capitol Confidential reported in April.

The developer must complete the land preparation by May 2, 2028, in order to get the taxpayer money, Don Ludwig, a megasite neighbor, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in a phone interview.

Ludwig has a keen interest in the site. That’s because he was involved in one of Michigan's most notorious cases of eminent domain. In 1981 the city of Detroit and General Motors seized his family home in Poletown, a 4,000-person community razed in 1981 to build an auto plant.

“My grandma was handcuffed to the porch,” said Ludwig, who was 12 at the time.

Locals residents sued and took the case to the Michigan Supreme Court, which ruled 5-2 for General Motors in Poletown Neighborhood Council v. City of Detroit.

In 2004, the Michigan Supreme Court overturned that ruling.

Ludwig said he won’t be pressured out of his home twice.

“They don’t have a buyer, but they’re destroying the farmland, taking everyone’s homes,” Ludwig said. “I’ll be the last one standing.”

Locals are concerned about how the megasite will affect water quality, Ludwig said. Day care centers, a church, a school, and several subdivisions sit across the street from the megasite.

CapCon has asked the economic development group how much water it plans to use each day. It has not responded.

The megasite can’t legally seize Ludwig’s home via eminent domain, Patrick Wright, Vice President for Legal Affairs of Mackinac Center for Public Policy, told CapCon in a phone interview. He cited a 2006 ballot proposal that 80% of Michigan voters approved.

The state forbids taking private property in the name of economic development and transferring it to a private entity.

The Flint & Genesee Economic Alliance is committed to protecting Michigan’s land, air, and water, the organization’s executive director, Tyler Rossmaessler, told CapCon in an email.

“We continue to work closely with Genesee County and the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to ensure our local and state partners have information and insights they need about our efforts to follow policies and procedures and protect this area while also developing a site that attracts a job-creating project,” Rossmaessler wrote.

The $259 million of taxpayer money should go to efforts that help Genesee County residents, like fixing the roads and infrastructure, Erin Mooney, another neighbor of the Mundy megasite, told CapCon in a phone interview.

“If there’s $259 million spent and there’s no buyer, then what? Depending on how far they get with the site prep, now you can’t farm the land and there’s no factory with these alleged jobs,” Mooney said. “But if you don’t have a buyer, how do you know how many jobs there will be?”

Gov. Gretchen Whitmer spent $175,000 on a February trip to the United Arab Emirates, the Michigan Enjoyer reported in March.

Wayne and Oakland counties also paid to send two people each on the 7,000+ mile trip from Feb. 11 to Feb. 19.

Wayne County Executive Warren C. Evans spent $4,657 of taxpayer money counting the flight, two hotels, and travel insurance, according to documents obtained through a record request from Wayne County.

The delegation attended the International Defence Exhibition and Conference in Abu Dhabi. About 21 people attended, the Enjoyer reported, including:

• Whitmer

• Major General Paul D. Rogers, Adjutant General of the Michigan National Guard and Director of the Michigan Department of Military and Veterans Affairs

• JoAnne Huls, chief of staff

• Terry Krinvic, director of scheduling

• Renee Farhat, residence director and family liaison

• Michigan Economic Development Corporation CEO Quentin L. Messer, Jr.

• Chief Innovation Officer Ben Marchionna

• ODAI Executive Director Col. John Gutierrez

• Mel Brown, executive ombudsman and senior external partnership advisor

• Maci Gilmore, assistant chief of protocol

• Oakland County Executive David Coulter

• Oakland County Chief Information Officer Rod Davenport

• Evans

• Wayne County Deputy County Executive Assad Turfe

• Associate Vice President for Research – Innovation Partnerships and Economic Impact at the University of Michigan Dr. Kelly Sexton

• Founder & Chairman of The Arab American News Osama Siblani

• Founder & Chairman of the Arab American Chamber of Commerce and Board of Trustees Ahmad Chebbani

• Miller Johnson Managing Member Fadwa Hammoud

• Harbor Light Advisors Partner Will Foss

• Henry Ford Health Vice President and Michigan Economic Development Foundation member Marc Corriveau

• Executive Director of the American Arab Chamber of Commerce and CEO of Tejara Bilal Hammoud

The junket was a strategic investment to attract foreign investment, create local opportunities, and expand international partnerships, Doda Lulgjuraj, director of communications for Evans, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

“We have the largest Arab population outside of the Middle East, and with our strong ties to the region and its leadership in key industries like advanced manufacturing and mobility, the visit reinforced Wayne County’s global role,” Lulgjuraj wrote. “Engaging in high-level discussions and collaborating with leaders positioned Wayne County for future economic growth, making the amount spent on travel a modest cost for potential long-term returns in jobs, investment, and global competitiveness.”

Deputy Wayne Co. Exec. Assad Turfe spent $4,567 on flights, hotel, and travel insurance, while Oakland County CIO Rod Davenport spent $3,966 on hotels and airfare, and Oakland Co. Exec. David Coulter spent $4,317 on flights and hotels.

The governor claimed the trip was an investment mission.

“Our investment mission to the UAE highlighted Michigan's leadership in advanced manufacturing, higher education, defense, and aerospace,” Whitmer said in a news release.

This mission marks the first time a Michigan governor has traveled to the region, according to the MEDC.

Companies in Dubai are more likely to base their decisions about doing business in Michigan on the 10% tariffs President Trump’s administration plans to levy on the United Arab Emirates than on a business trip, John Mozena, president of the Center for Economic Accountability, told CapCon in an email.

Federal, state, and local politicians wrongly try to run the economy, Mozena said.

“The people of Michigan would be much better off if federal, state and local politicians all stopped trying to run the economy like it’s something they’re capable of doing, and instead let the rest of us get on with buying, selling and working in the way that leaves us the best off,” Mozena wrote. “The best way to do ‘economic development’ is to not have the government interfering in everything we do, or spending our money on boondoggle vacations for deputy county executives and the like.”