After spending $6 million of taxpayer money to prepare a site for an industrial development in Eagle Township, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation announced in November that it will end the project.

Michigan Farm News reported on Nov. 19 that the MEDC is squashing plans for the site, which the Lansing Economic Area Partnership once touted as a national frontrunner for attracting corporations.

LEAP boasted the project would be “America’s best megasite,” according to Bridge Michigan.

Michigan’s chief agency for distributing taxpayer subsidies initially backed the plan for the land in Clinton County. The MEDC disbursed $5.95 million to the Lansing economic development organization for site preparation, Otie McKinley, communications manager for the MEDC, told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email.

“MEDC’s overarching goal is to create good-paying jobs and opportunities throughout Michigan,” McKinley added.

The agency that disburses subsidies believes the site has great potential given its proximity to infrastructure, workforce, and other adjacent industrial uses, McKinley said. He said, though, that it is not the right time to pursue additional development on the site.

Part of the property, 1,200 acres, was acquired from Michigan State University, which received the land as a gift from a now-deceased farmer, Dave Morris. Michigan Farm News reported that Morris wanted the land to remain agricultural for at least 25 years, which one of his neighbors confirmed to CapCon in 2023.

The state’s development agency did not want to wait that long. “We have this very unique opportunity right now, if we move very quickly with site readiness,” Terri Fitzpatrick, executive vice president and chief real estate and global attraction officer at the Michigan Economic Development Corporation, told Bridge Michigan Aug. 25, 2022.

But no company had committed itself to purchasing the site.

Lansing-based LEAP told Bridge Michigan that local municipalities “are engaged and in full support” of the project, though it did not mention any local opposition. Voters recalled the local township supervisor who supported the project as a way to stop the megasite. Local residents partly opposed the project because the township kept it a secret. Eagle Township Supervisor Patti Schafer signed a non-disclosure agreement with the MEDC on March 26, 2022, according to the NDA CapCon obtained through a record request.

Several township residents formed the nonprofit Economic Development Responsibility Alliance to oppose certain megasites, including one for a battery plant near Big Rapids.

“The MEDC and LEAP’s backing off the development of the (megasite) is a win for Eagle Township residents, and it’s a win for grassroots communities across Michigan,” Marjorie Steele, founder and executive director of the alliance, said in an email to Cap Con.

“While it’s unfortunate that residents had to resort to recalling their supervisor and revising their master plan in order to make themselves heard to our state-funded developers,” said Steele, “it demonstrates that Michiganders have the power and the savvy to protect their communities from toxic heavy industrial developments which abuse taxpayer dollars.”

The state of Michigan has chosen three law firms to sue an industry that has sent more than $1 billion to parks in all 83 counties since 1976.

The Department of Attorney General selected three outside legal teams to serve as special assistant attorneys general to sue the fossil fuel industry, press secretary Danny Wimmer told Michigan Capitol Confidential in an email. The department alleges that the industry contributes to climate change.

“The team made up of Sher Edling LLP, DiCello Levitt LLP, and Hausfeld LLP brings an exceptional mix of skilled attorneys who have experience successfully representing public entities in specialized litigation involving environmental issues and industry deception.”

Seventeen attorneys from the private law firms signed the contract. None of the lawyers are based in Michigan. Instead, they hail from San Francisco, Chicago and Philadelphia, respectively.

Michigan’s contract with the firms runs from Sept. 26, 2024, through Sept. 30, 2027, and it may be extended with 30 days’ notice, according to the 14-page contract obtained through a Freedom of Information Act request.

For any payout the state receives, up to $150 million, the outside lawyers will receive 10% of that amount before discovery and 16.67% after discovery. They will receive 2.5% of amounts exceeding $150 million before discovery and 7.5% after, according to the contract.

Every year, Michigan reaps millions of dollars in royalties on the sale and lease of state-owned gas and mineral rights. In 2023, that number topped $42 million, according to the House Fiscal Agency.

The Department of Natural Resources lists more than 2,500 projects funded by oil and gas royalties and revenue since the start of the Natural Resource Trust Fund in 1976.

The trust fund provides grants to local governments and the DNR so they may acquire land and develop it. The projects aim to increase recreational opportunities and to protect land based on its environmental importance or scenic beauty. The Michigan Constitution requires that not less than 25% of grants from the fund are used for acquisition, and not more than 25% are used for development.

Revenues the oil and gas industry are now deposited to the Michigan State Parks Endowment Fund until the fund balance reaches $800 million, after which revenues will again be credited to the trust fund. The endowment fund has a balance of $323.5 million, according to the latest available information.

The oil and gas industry provides 229,000 jobs in Michigan, according to a 2023 report from the American Petroleum Institute.

Michigan ranks 18th among the states in crude oil production, 19th in natural gas production, and 27th in total energy production, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration.

Similar lawsuits have been filed by governments in California, Connecticut, Delaware, Hawaii, Illinois, Maryland, Massachusetts, Minnesota, New York, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Vermont and Washington, D.C., according to the Center For Climate Integrity.