Advertisement

BELLAIRE - With the appeals process to government agencies behind them, Antrim County, Star Township, Friends of the Jordan River, and others now seek remedy from the courts.

The group has opposed trucking and storing of leachate from Bay Harbor Resort to a CMS Energy company injection well in Star Township, but the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and the federal Environmental Protection Agency issued permits to CMS allowing for the well and to the Beeland Group to drill.

Susan Hlywa Topp and Charles Koop, attorneys for Antrim County, Star Township and others ("the group") filed a civil case with the Antrim County Circuit Court on Oct. 30, naming Beeland Group as a defendant. Documents filed include a motion for a preliminary injunction to stop any drilling or other action until the case is heard. A hearing date on that motion has not yet been set.

Dr. John Richter is president of the Friends of the Jordan River and has played a central role in taking action to prevent the leachate contaminant from injection well storage in Star Township.

"With the EPA appeals board it's rarely successful, but in the circuit court it's a more level playing field," Richter said. "We think that our chances are much better."

Star Township supervisor, Richard Steel, agreed.

"Everybody in the township, the county commissioners, Friends of the Jordan and township officials, we're all optimistic," Steel said. "We're working together - we haven't given up."

There are times of frustration, but the group is planning to move ahead, Richter said. The goals are not only to stop the injection well, but also to clean up Bay Harbor, he said.

Bay Harbor Resort was built on the site of a former cement plant. The kiln dust remains on the site in piles. When water reaches the kiln dust it forms a toxic substance.

St. Mary's Cement Plant near Charlevoix offered to remove some of the contaminated leachate piles from Bay Harbor some time ago, saying it could safely use it in production. But, that offer has not been acted upon by CMS, according to Richter.

Now, with St. Mary's laying off workers there is a greater advantage to working with the company, Richter said.

"If we call for encapsulation of the kiln dust piles (surrounding them with cement) so water can't reach them we'll need an enormous amount of cement to encapsulate. St. Mary's can use the leachate until the piles are encapsulated," Richter said. "It not only will provide jobs, but will provide a solution to the problem of leachate."

Richter and others are organizing educational meetings around the northern Michigan area to give information to the public, like that pollutants, mercury for one, are entering Little Traverse Bay and Lake Michigan every day, Richter said.

More information may be obtained on the following Web site: www. friendsofthejordan.org/alba/.

B. J. Hetler may be contacted at 231-622-2645 or at citizen@voyager.net.