PM Bayou, DEQ report continued.....

[jfc123]

Very interesting article and thoughts Shinblind, and a great find. Best of what I can speak of are the results from 2008. I have spoken of the devastation that occurred, and that is still there. First thing in the bayou was the road and heavy debris, what followed was everything you mention along with several days of RAW sewage and run off from all the industry and major retail like Walmart and McDonalds. So the road and heavy debris basically built a wall that has shut off the east end of the bayou from approx. the home just east of the Tamarac building. Since, it has redirected the water flow though the bayou which is shown by all of the weeds on the eastern/southern end of the bayou. There was so much in the bayou/lake at that time it closed all of the beaches, even Stearns which is right by the intake for the drinking water for Ludington and surrounding, for several days. There have been several breaks that have gone unreported but thanks to the internet they can be found.

The true victims here are not the adjacent landowners but all of the surrounding people in the city/county. This has not been maintained for several years, the bayou and all of the road/RAW sewage that seeped for days/ pollution by the big box and industry upstream and the fact that the COL has not had a permit for their waste water treatment since 2011, because they are out of compliance!

You can’t make this up! It is all supported by a DEQ report, all 480 pages! Gov. Granholm signed a declaration that this be cleaned and provided the funds. The COL Mayor and council disregarded our Governors commands and spent the money elsewhere. Also to add the report stated if not cleaned up it would have MAJOR economic consequences to all in the area of devastation, the private owned marinas that were the ones that brought the boats and sportfishing to the area. The same group that got the salmon in Ludington when the DNR fought them. Are they trying to take our land or steal for pennies on the dollar?

Also I think of the contamination that came from the Water St. Bridge rebuild. Why is that not necessary to be cleaned up? So much dust/debris fell into the water that was not dredged (reminds me of leaded gas and poor fuel system sealant back then}.

Maybe because the bayou, if maintained by the ones that polluted it, is by FAR a more desired area to park a boat due to its lower lying inland location that is more shielded from the weather. The COL is looking for 1.2-1.8 MILLION to fix up their marinas, after sever hundred thousand spent a few years back dredging. This money is paid back by your taxes directly. The money that was slated to clean the original mess was pissed away by your council and mayor, but provided by the state.

It is time for accountability, period! Government is supposed to be of the people and for the people, not just a select few!

[shinblind]

Hey jfc

I found this article about the the bayou contamination in the COLDs that glosses over these facts.  

http://www.shorelinemedia.net/ludington_daily_news/archives/bayou-d...

Note this statement, "The samples came back showing contamination that would require him to landfill or cover any sediment removed and came with a warning from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that there should be no human contact with those sediments."

"...NO HUMAN CONTACT WITH THESE SEDIMENTS"

And farther down, "The samples showed arsenic and benzo A pyrene present above the allowable human direct contact limit."

BENZO A  PYRENE

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Benzo(a)pyrene

Note this,  "Benzo[a]pyrene is a polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon found in coal tar with the formula C₂₀H₁₂. Its metabolites are mutagenic and highly carcinogenic, and it is listed as a Group 1 carcinogen."

This, "In the 18th century, young British chimney sweeps who climbed into chimneys suffered from chimney sweeps' carcinoma, a scrotal cancer peculiar to their profession."

And this," Frequent skin cancers were noted among fuel industry workers in the 19th century. In 1933, benzo[a]pyrene was determined to be the compound responsible for these cases, and its carcinogenicity was demonstrated when skin tumors occurred ..."

Then I remembered this link,

https://glc-lists.merit.edu/sympa/arc/enviro-mich/2014-07/msg00070....

Which included this,"...the intra county drain agreement of municipalities and State of Michigan gained he responsibility to maintain this drain inlet/outlet since 1999 have not been followed."

And this, "MDEQ made contractors aware of the probability of coal tar plumes during a bridge replacement at the channel into the bayou at this time last year. An abandoned coal tar production plant listed as a brownfield site owned and operated by Mich-Con near the shore of the Pere Marquette Lake may be the main culprit of the coal tar source."

There was a coal tar gas producing plant in Ludington at one time. I believe it was started in the 1890's and ran until the late 1920's. But this plant was well west of Washington Avenue bridge along the railroad tracks. Then I remembered the old city dump along the Creamery Corner Drain. And how industrial users in the past as was the practice at those times  got rid of their waste products by disposing them in the City Dump. 

And then the circle is complete. From the Coal Tar Gas Plant to the City Dump and then eroding in the Pere Marquette Bayou in the storm on 2008.

Also note from the photos Willy provided earlier during the low water period when this carcinogenic mud was exposed, that there is no yellow hazmat tape surrounding this area. No chain link fence and warning signs like which surrounded Love Canal. Nope nothing to stop kids from playing along this shore.

 And I wonder how White Hall Industries and the neighboring houses feel being directly down wind from this toxic sludge. During the low water event some of this material must have dried out enough to be blown about by the prevailing winds.

 

[XLFD]

shinblind,

we need folks like you on the city council that actually cares about the welfare of the citizens of Ludington.  Once again I brought up the PM Bayou contaminations and indications of a potential environmental problem at the site at 916 North Washington, and they were ignored.  Two meetings where the councilors have been informed that sediment under the bayou contained 330 times the reportable levels of lead (and many other serious pollutants) during the same time of a major water crisis involving lead in Flint and our city council just yawns and applauds their efforts in getting the Jaycees a sizable grant from the MI DNR to do improvements on their mini golf course.  The same DNR which should be directing some cash towards more important projects like the bayou cleanup and other testing.

I was at that July 2013 meting at the city hall, recorded the proceedings and the only thing that kept me from writing a post on it was that a lot of other things were happening at the time.  The COLDNews and other agencies never showed up and got their information strictly from Karboske and CM Shay.  This meeting has been referenced in Jeff Henry's Transparency videos as well.

Some of my research into the city's past meeting minutes has me believe that your concerns about that area are true, and verify the concerns about that dump made at the time before it became a breeding ground for the private marinas, who appear to be excellent stewards of it as well.  The aforementioned Ray Karboske Jr. is still active in getting this problem solved, for it has more far-reaching effects on just his business there.  It's a matter of public safety and health.

[Willy]

Well done shinblind. Wouldn't it be belly shaking laugh if the money spent on the water tower painting was the money earmarked for the bayou clean up. Of course that fits with the twisted thinking that has been a staple for some time now with the Council and City Manager. We certainly can't have water that glows brighter than the tower it sits in.

[jfc123]

Very well said and documented shinblind! I absolutely agree with X that the COL residents would be so much better off with you than these self centered, how were they even elected, fools. If you run we will support your campaign! With such thorough research if your an attorney I want to offer you a retainer! I have not had time to go through your whole comment and links but will very soon and be taking notes. I believe that things will be better soon and with all of the interest that is in this and the views, winds of change are blowing! Ludington residents deserve this! And to borrow from Trump, make Ludington great again!

[AQUAMAN]

Here's some interesting things to note. A government by the people: about 600 city residents vote, the others out of about 2,000 registered do not vote; government is by the vast minority of people by far. A government for the people: this city government has made no secret that it does NOT care for locals: they bilk every dollar in their budget over basic necessities for tourist related projects, they even ignore basic infrastructure, which is, or at least, should be a crime, and legal reason for recalls. We in Ludington DO NOT have a representative government that is dedicated to taxpaying locals anymore. We have a handful of outsiders running and pounding agendas that do not serve the general public, they serve themselves and the tourists. When will this be corrected? Well, never the way things are now and continue to be, unless and until, the locals get the information, and ACT TOGETHER to throw out the bums that put us all in this situation, and continue to ignore it.

[jfc123]

With the surge of a candidates like Trump or Cruz, and Sanders there is no better time than now! Our country wants change. Time to register voters and find someone like many of you that post here and care so much to get together and make a run! I pledge support!

[Willy]

I agree Aquaman and jfc123 but I certainly hope jfc123 was referring to Colonel Sanders and not Hillary's cousin Bernie Sanders.

[XLFD]

Aquaman, the numbers you quoted are a bit off, but the point is well taken since the voting rate is even worse than you portray.  In the last November city election of 2013, voting records show Ludington had 6134 registered voters, but only 1455 cast ballots for a whopping 23.72% turnout, which is significantly less than your 30% stats.  This election featured a contested mayor race, a contested 2nd ward and some other errata. 

If you subtract 300+ voters to account for the city employee voting bloc, you get well under the 20% mark, which is quite small for a November election.  Our city leaders, however, foster apathy, for it allows them to do their business in the shadows with little accountability. 

Hence, whenever someone turns on the lights on their doings they strike back.  A healthy government would encourage citizen participation and spend the tax money on what the citizens want, which is the basics-- not $1 million transient docks, $1 replacement docks for the city marina, $3 million of ill-advised 'improvements' for Stearn's Park, $1.5 million in needless and way-overpriced water tower painting, etc.

[AQUAMAN]

Thanks for the correction X, was going strictly from memory, but my intentions were fair. And let's not forget the West End Project still being pushed as another warped agenda, about $16 Million worth of spending to destroy and view of Lk. Mich. in favor of tourists getting a grand stand at the end of Lud. Ave., along with knocking down a sand dune.

[XLFD]

Aquaman, I am well aware that your intentions are fair, but your numbers seem to be running foul.  $16 million could describe the rough amount for water treatment plant revisions, initial wastewater treatment plant revisions, or conservatively, the amount to correct the wastewater problem in the near future-- about $50 million total.  The amount earmarked for the eight West End Projects was between $2 and $3 million about ten years ago, probably around $4 million now in toto.  Don't give them any more money to wreck our shores, LOL.

[jfc123]

Was just thinking about a meeting with the people around the bayou, Shay, and the council talking about this mess in 2014 I believe. I asked him to bring his kids down, we can BBQ and they can go swimming. Needless to say he declined, but its ok for the less fortunate I guess? Nice leadership!