06/22/2007

Township boning up on well

Engineer, attorney to review Bay Harbor plan

BY SHERI McWHIRTER

smcwhirter@record-eagle.com

ALBA — Star Township officials are investigating a proposed disposal well near Alba after residents voiced opposition to the plan during a recent public hearing.

Supervisor Richard Steel said officials in this Antrim County community want to learn all they can about a well that would be used to hold contaminated water from the Bay Harbor resort and are consulting with an environmental engineer and an attorney.

"The wishes of the people of the township are to have the well stopped. We're elected to represent the people and that's what the people want,” Steel said.

An intended site near the intersection of Alba Highway and Patterson Road may become a disposal well for polluted water from Bay Harbor on Little Traverse Bay in Emmet County, if permits are issued by state and federal agencies.

Environmental engineer Kevin Sagasser of Gaylord said he is a volunteer township consultant for a comprehensive case review.

"I'll be looking at spill pollution prevention, preventative maintenance and appropriate engineering controls for the project,” he said, as well as whether there are alternatives.

Gaylord attorney Susan Hlywa Topp said she was retained to assist the township. The issues are whether local government and community members had adequate review and response time, along with the matter of moving contamination from one location to another, she said.

A deep-injection well near Alba was proposed by Beeland Group, a subsidiary of CMS Energy, which was an investor in the Bay Harbor development. Luxury homes were built on kiln dust from an old cement factory there, which now seeps pollutants into Lake Michigan.

A $93 million cleanup effort is under way, and company officials said they want to use the proposed well in Antrim County until they are able to build and operate a treatment plant at the cleanup site near Petoskey.

"We're committed to doing this right and doing it safely,” said Tim Petrosky, CMS area manager.

Cleanup wastewater is taken to Grand Traverse County's septage treatment plant and a disposal well in Montmorency County.

Both the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality must approve permits before the disposal well can be drilled near Alba. The public comment deadline is Wednesday.