Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat News
The Newsletter of the Great Lakes
Aquatic Habitat Network and Fund
Volume 123, Number 2 • Early Spring 2005
Great Lakes Aquatic Habitat NewsThe Newsletter of the Great Lakes
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A proposed U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigational dredging project in the Upper Saginaw River has advocates in the area asking tough questions about the best way to deal with the river’s toxic legacy. The proposal is to dredge 3.1 million cubic yards of sediment contaminated with mercury, dioxins, and other chemicals, and dispose of the sediments in a facility located in the floodplain and adjacent to a State Game Area. Few would argue against the importance of getting these toxins out of the river, or the economic benefits from shipping traffic in the area. But several organizations, such as the Lone Tree Council and Citizens Against Toxic Substances (CATS), as well as the Michigan DNR and U.S. EPA have expressed concerns with the project. Chief among the concerns is the lack of an Environmental Impact Statement regarding the site chosen for the Dredged Material Disposal Facility (DMDF).
Scarred Legacy, Committed Community
The Saginaw River watershed – a butterfly shaped area
covering 8,600 square miles – is the largest in the state,
encompassing twenty-two counties in part or whole. The
Saginaw River itself is a turbid, 22-mile long waterway,
plagued by sedimentation from four major tributaries: the
Cass, Flint, Shiawassee, and Tittabawassee, and waters fouled
by years of industrial use. But nobody has given up on
the river or its bay. Efforts to address the industrial
pollution, particularly a $28 million Natural Resources
Damage suit settled by General Motors and other
polluters, recently saw PCB hot spots removed, and
renewed community efforts to address other impaired
uses of the water. Unfortunately, recent sampling has
uncovered high levels of dioxin in the river sediment, an
awakening to the toxic legacy of a chemical company.
Flawed Process, Unacceptable Disposal Site
Because an existing Confined Disposal Facility has been
declared full, there has been a push to find a new
dredged spoils site. Championed by the Saginaw
County Public Works Commissioner, and supported by
shipping interests organized as the Upper Saginaw
River Alliance, the search narrowed a list of 30 potential
sites to three: an existing General Motors facility, a site
some distance away from the river in Buena Vista
Township, and 537-acres of farm fields in the floodplain
of the river and adjacent to the Crow Island State Game
Area.
It became clear from the onset of public meetings that there would be an aggressive push for the farm fields. An Environmental Impact Statement (EIS) should have been mandatory given the proximity to the river, the adjacent State Game Area, and opposition of nearby homeowners and the trustees of the host township of Zilwaukee. Interestingly, in a 1993 Preliminary Letter Report (essentially a prequel to an EIS) the Corps ruled out sites west of the Saginaw River (where the farm fields are located) because of poor clay soils and a high water table. Perhaps recognizing that an EIS for the site would likely find it unsuitable, the Corps has to date only conducted a short Environmental Assessment.
Ongoing Story
A proposal of this magnitude requires the input of the public
at many levels, and it will be important for concerned citizens
to make their voices heard along the way. The Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) has issued a
draft Section 401 Water Quality Certification for the proposed
Dredge Material Disposal Facility and accepted public
comments on the draft until March 7, 2005.MDEQ also held a
public meeting to discuss the project on March 1st. If you are
interested in learning more about this project, and how you
can most effectively participate, please contact Terry Miller of
the Lone Tree Council: (989) 686-6386.
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Lake Huron - US Side Advisor Chris Grubb Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council 426 Bay Street Petoskey, MI 49770 (231)-347-1181 (ext 114) (231)-347-5928 (fax) Email: chrisgrubb@watershedcouncil.org Website: www.watershedcouncil.org |