Application for relief from a rule promulgated by the department shall be made by petition to the circuit court for the county of Ingham or for the county in which the petitioner resides. The petition shall be verified as in a civil action. Each petition shall contain a plain and concise statement of the material facts on which the petitioner relies, shall set forth the rule or part of the rule that the petitioner claims is unreasonable or prejudicial to the petitioner, and shall specify the grounds for the claim. The petition may be accompanied by affidavits or other written proof and shall demand the relief to which the petitioner alleges he or she is entitled, in the alternative or otherwise. The petition may be made by 1 or more persons, jointly or severally, who are aggrieved by a rule, whether or not the petitioner is or was a party to the proceeding in which the rule was promulgated by the department.