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June 16, 2005Meeting will discuss Au Sable cleanupAll who are interested are invited to attendByRecord-Eagle staff writer GAYLORD - Two conservation groups will host a meeting at Kolke Creek to discuss an oil well pollution cleanup proposal that could affect the headwaters of the Au Sable River. The meeting is scheduled for 10 a.m. Wednesday at the creek near Mancelona and Lynn Lake roads in Otsego County's Hayes Township. Merit Energy wants to take contaminated groundwater from the Manistee River watershed in Hayes Township, treat it and then discharge the sterile water into the Au Sable River watershed. The informational meeting will be hosted by the Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited and Michigan United Conservation Clubs. Conservationists, anglers and other interested people are invited to attend the session. "It's to allow the folks who are interested to hear from the DNR and DEQ about what options are being looked at and considered, and what is the best option for the discharge," said John Walters, president of the Headwaters Chapter of Trout Unlimited. The Texas-based oil company received a surface water discharge permit in March from the state Department of Environmental Quality, which reported the project would not hurt the environment. An easement is needed from the state Department of Natural Resources because the company wants to pipe up to 1.15 million gallons of treated water a day across state-owned land before dumping it into the creek, which is part of the Au Sable's headwaters. The DNR fisheries division is critical of the proposal.
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