This past January, Geoffrey Fieger was back in the news for filing a new lawsuit on behalf of a group of Oakland County homeowners whose trees were removed by DTE as part of its allegedly clandestine “Ground to Sky” policy. The plaintiffs allege that DTE, as part of its routine clearing of foliage around its elevated electrical lines, clear cut a large number of mature and valuable trees without permission, compensation, or prior notice to the owners of those trees. DTE admits it cleared the trees but essentially claims that it has authority to do this both as part of its public utility right-of-way and pursuant to an order from the Michigan Public Service Commission (MPSC) to be “more aggressive” in its tree trimming to prevent power outages. DTE has now suspended the tree cutting at the behest of local officials.
The difficulty of balancing the needs of the public with private property is nothing new. The MPSC probably never anticipated this type of drastic action by DTE. Among the issues here is whether the public had a chance to weigh in or be represented before the trees were cleared. Moreover, we do not know whether clearing those trees actually resulted in fewer power outages. In addition, a purportedly secret policy such as “Ground to Sky” seems to stand in sharp contrast to DTE’s widely touted “green energy projects.” After all, what is greener than trees? Just as with the Truffula trees in Dr. Seuss’s The Lorax, there is no question that we all benefit from the trees around us, no matter who owns them. We will have to wait to see who “speaks for the trees.”