Ludington City Council Ignores the Pere Marquette Bayou's Contamination Report

[XLFD]

I made what I thought was an important announcement at the city council meeting, but not one councilor commented on it, nor did any of our local media look into it or report on it.  As usual, I used official documents, and as usual, there was no attempt at serious refutation for what is a very serious matter that could affect the health of our own community.

Many of our community don't know or care that the City's wastewater plant and Oxychem had their permits for discharging wastewater expire in 2011.  They have gotten consent to continue dumping wastewater into the environment, but they have not always been in compliance with that during this last four years.  Yet, it is dangerous and scary when one looks just at the results for the PM Lake Bayou, that bayou lying between the Washington Street Bridge and Madison Street.

At the meeting of January 11, 2016, the attendance was high due to a concerted effort by both sides of a rezoning effort for an address on the north side of Washington Street.  Recognizing the dispute, I decided to get the first word in this night, so as to allow the other issue to not be interrupted by my pleas for action, transparency and accountability. 

The rest of this interesting two hour meeting will be covered at a later date, for now my comment on the problems of Ludington begins at the three minute mark, after Mayor Cox reminds us to please not engage the council in any meaningful dialogue.  Say your piece, sit down, and be likely ignored, unless you speak on behalf of the city.  The city officials would fail to acknowledge the DEQ report they asked for, and what it had in it throughout the meeting. 

January 11, 2016 Ludington City Council from Mason County District Library on Vimeo.

Every new year brings with it a new hope, and I am hopeful that this year will see changes from what this council offered in 2015. In 2015, we saw the city council belittle the rights of our town's citizens by passing various ordinances regarding rental inspections, junk, and tall grass. The objectives of such ordinances are great, but the laws themselves left little regards for the basic rights our country holds dear in regards to due process and the sanctity of our private property.

We also witnessed an assault on our small business owners, whether it were the scores of landlords who made their views known about how they and their customers would be affected by rental inspection, the Texas college girl you ran out of town after giving her permission to sell her educational books here, or all of the businesses who you have engaged in unfair competition with while using taxpayer dollars and your considerable power to your advantage.

We have seen that our officials receive favorable treatment from their assessor in regards to taxes while our unimproved and vacant lots go up 20-fold in taxes in a matter of a few years, we have seen what many years of neglect will cost us in the future in regards to our water and sewer rates, those rates determined by a consultant hired by our city attorney and paid tens of thousands of our tax dollars well before this council determined it needed those services.

I brought up ten undisputed reasons why our city manager deserved to be fired earlier last year, they still stand proudly unrefuted, but you impotently failed to correct that at the last meeting of 2015.

Now, I generally am not what anyone would call an environmentalist, but when bad things happen in my community, and affects my neighbors and myself, I can quickly become one. Five years ago, the city manager was apprised that the discharge permit for the Wastewater treatment plant would not be renewed. Was this topic openly shared with the community until this last year so that we could decide how to best correct it? Were city resources being used to correct it, other than haggling with the state DEQ and DNR over an acceptable compromise, with the state arguing on behalf of our citizen's safety.

Our treated wastewater gets reintroduced back to us through a discharge pipe that enters an almost stagnant river bayou. The plant itself has been tested with unacceptable levels of ammonia and heavy metals, and yet the city sits on this information, keeping the results and the potential hazards away from the people. It may remind some of the crisis happening in Flint, and that would not be far off.

The city, on bequest of several private citizens asked for a Brownfield Redevelopment Assessment report one year ago for the Pere Marquette Lake Bayou between Washington and Madison Streets. Testing was conducted this last summer, and a report was made on September 17, 2015. Nearly four months later, the city has yet to acknowledge or comment on the results of that report.

Ideally, city leaders would not be ignoring the report, which claims a significant amount of contamination, but rather bringing it to the public's attention. But the modus operandi of Ludington has been secrecy and back room negotiations between our Grand Rapids and Manistee lawyers and the state, while our management team runs cover for them. Nobody in the mix has our own interests at heart because of their distance from the problems.

A brief review of the 480 page report shows many organic and inorganic pollutants in the murk underneath this bayou, which has effectively been a catch basin for many of the historic industrial discharges in the area, allowed to do so by the laxer ecological regulations of the past.

Despite the rupture of the Madison sewer line during the flood of 2008 which led to the dumping of raw sewage into the bayou, and the public dock the city maintains thereon, the city has done nothing to correct what it's neglect and misuse of this natural treasure has wrought.

The sediment samples show that the minimum reporting levels of pollutants are well exceeded throughout the bayou. Lead in the water has been the topic in Flint. One sample in the bayou had lead levels 330 times the reporting level. Does that concern you? One sample had mercury levels at 21 times the minimum reporting levels. Mercury is one of the most harmful pollutants faced by fish and wildlife. Does that deserve to be looked into further?

[This is where I was cut off, the mayor apparently not believing that official reports on a polluted area in the middle of the city was not all that important.  I conclude my prepared speech here.]

"Here's a full list of inorganic pollutants found at above reportable levels in the sediment below the bayou: arsenic, barium, cadmium, chromium, copper, lead , mercury, selenium, silver, zinc-- basically each one they test for. At highly elevated levels-- zinc in one sample was 440 times the reportable levels.

Organic pollutants fall primarily in the carcinogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbon class: pyrene, fluoranthene, phenanthrene, chrysene, benzanthracene, naphthalene, isophorone, hexachloroethane, fluorene, anthracene, acenapthylene, acenaphthene, benzofluoranthene, three different ethers, and a few others more hard to pronounce. It also includes two PCB's Aroclor 1016 and Aroclor 1260.

Please keep the public informed and educated on the city's actions and negotiations with the state for mitigating this lethal chemical cocktail in the middle of our city. Thank you."

You may have seen a strange boat with strangely cladded people on the PM Bayou this summer taking sediment samples, in order to complete their report.  The 480 page report is difficult to wade through, and even more unwieldy large to be loaded on this platform or even Facebook.  It was originally accessed through the DEQ by an interested party, who received the link to it, and a special username and password that will expire.  I will gladly help any interested party get their own copy of it. 

But the vast majority of the report are lists of chemicals, elements involving numbers and codes-- it's not easy reading.  The narrative of the report is also hard to decipher as to their overall conclusions from the tests other than whether it qualifies as a facility and other legal technicalities as to its 'brownfield' status. 

Be that as it may, there is a lot of information in the packet, but it needs to be gathered and looked at in more thoroughness than what the DEQ, because their objective was not necessarily to see whether this area was a danger onto itself or the community as a whole.  As noted in my comment, the extent of the contamination was mostly inorganic metallic elements.  But arsenic and organic PCB and PAH pollutants were also present and at disturbing levels. 

The following map took a little while to make with the data, but is a good plotting of the extent of the pollution as tested in the sediments cored from the bayou.  The various colors indicate certain pollutants, and the size of the 'dot' in an area indicates the concentration of that pollutant in that test area, as noted in the key on the map's left.  The smallest dot indicates that the concentration is only one to five times the minimum reportable level (MRL). 

The MRL being exceeded is the indication that you have a problem.  The largest dot indicates the MRL is exceeded over a factor of 100 times.   This means the problem is likely fairly significant, lead, zinc, and barium levels quite often got in this range throughout the bayou.  The 'dots' are clustered around the sediment testing site, and you can tell by this map how corrupted an area is by the mass of these dots combined.  A key to the colors and what they stand for are below the map.

Pink- Zinc

Yellow- Lead

Black- Organic pollutants (each dot indicates a different compound)

Blue- Arsenic

Aqua- Copper

Red-  Mercury

Lavender- Barium

Burgundy- Cadmium

Lime- Chromium

Silver- Silver

A couple of things are apparent.  The organic pollutants are on the south side of the bayou, lead is prevalent throughout and mostly concentrated.  The worst areas appear where the bayou is deeper. 

The report also did core sampling from the shoreline area the city owns.  They did five different core samples in these land areas, and they had pollutants present also.  Land samples look at different metals and organic compounds.  Here the color code remains the same as above, with the exception that 'red' now stands for elevated levels of iron, and olive green stands for metals other than the ones listed that fall over the MRL.  These include not only cadmium and barium, but others like antimony, beryllium, cobalt, manganese, molybdenum, nickel, selenium, thallium, and vanadium. 

As noted in my comment, the levels of these pollutants are a matter of concern for those who use that area and beyond.  While the contamination seems to be getting worse going west in the bayou, the contamination looks to have nothing to do with the marina operations by the nature of what's found in the tests.  One wonders, how would the rest of PM Lake rate, being that they are even closer to what has been an active chemical production site for many years.

It should be noted also that this chemical company has or had it's own expired discharge permit that went bad in 2011 like the city's.  The white hills and multicolored pools at this facility rise above the lake, yet how is the public to know what we have going on over there?  Do we trust the state DEQ to be our watchdog like Flint's residents did, or do we all just accept it as the price of living in Ludington?

[Willy]

Exceptional article X. The community should be grateful that you have invested your time and resources to investigate this situation. And your speech at City Council was right on the money. Thanks for all you do.

I'm wondering when this Council, Mayor and LDN will get their heads out of each others as_ses and do the job they are supposed to be performing. The Council, Mayor and LDN are like anchors around the necks of Ludingtons citizens preventing the City from reaching it's potential. They are only interested in what can be provided to the tourists, their friends and cronies. They don't seem to give a boat load of crap for those they represent. If they're reaction to the report and your talk is to sit their and pick their noses and yawn then Ludington is in deep sh_t because those in power just don't care. Water and a lake bottom loaded with toxic material is nothing to ignore but that seems to be standard procedure for Ludingtons officials. A special shame on you is due the LDN for ignoring this information. What a shameful waste of trees that make the material LDN prints on. Bird cage liner is to good for this news agency so I would suggest distributing their product to all those hill billys who still use outhouses.

[jfc123]

This is an excerpt from:

Flood News for

Michigan Floodplain Managers

A Newsletter of the

Land and Water Management Division

Michigan Department of Environmental Quality

www.michigan.gov/deq

Steven E. Chester, Director Jennifer M. Granholm, Governor Summer 2008

This is a link to the article : http://michigan.gov/documents/deq/lwm-nfip-summer-2008_248403_7.pdf

Page 3 states:

In Ludington, the rain that fell overtaxed the sewer force main at Madison Street, causing the pipe and a 50-foot section of the road to collapse, meaning 90 percent of the city’s raw sewage flowed directly into Pere Marquette Lake. The raw sewage continued to empty into the lake for 60 hours while the force main was repaired. An estimated 15 million gallons of untreated sewage and 10 million gallons of storm water went into the lake. The Health Department closed three public beaches and three boat launches near Ludington.

North of Ludington, the level of the water at the Hamlin Dam peaked at 9.8 feet on the dam’s gauge. The normal summer level for the lake is 7.42 feet. Boats that got loose during the flood event were piling up against the dam structure. Ludington State Park was evacuated on Friday due to the potential for dam failure from the high water and flooding in the campground. The park remained closed until Monday, June 16th.

In Lake County, the worst damage involved a large mudslide north of Luther that sent a bank full of trees onto North State Road and a 30-foot wide sinkhole on 11 Mile Road west of Irons.

In Wexford County, Lakes Cadillac and Mitchell were out of their banks, causing water over the road around the lake, flooding 25 homes, and flooding over 75 percent of the Mitchell State Park, leading to the park being closed to the public.

Photo: Building flooded along the Lincoln River north of Ludington

Governor Jennifer Granholm declared a state of emergency in Lake, Manistee, Osceola, and Wexford Counties. In Mason County alone, officials estimate the flooding from the storm caused an estimated 4.8 million dollars in damages to public infrastructure, cleanup costs, and other services. On July 14, the federal government made a federal disaster declaration for this area and ordered federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. End of excerpt.

My reply:

NEVER was any of the bayou cleaned up, the road and everything else is STILL there! This is something that everyone should be upset about. Where did the COL spend the money that was slated for cleaning up this mess? This area is where a lot of children go to fish. Many boaters rent docks and bring family. It is a fishing town and when at the dock everyone likes to drop a line in the water to see what they can catch. Many will toss a ball into the water and their dogs that love to swim fetch it. Many families live on or near this bayou. The municipal marinas had dredging done a few years back and several hundred thousand dollars were spent. Now the same marinas are looking to borrow 1.2-1.8 million more for repairs/improvements at their marinas, that the COL taxpayers will pay back, not the marinas. All the while this quaint little bayou that sits by the 4th ward remains untouched without any plan for a clean up and as this report shows, turning into a contaminated pool of pollution that is harmful to all. Very much like Flint the Mayor and Council have nothing to say. It took 2 years of complaints by the people of Flint to get action and in its dust you will see a lot of heads rolling and I believe a once popular governor go out in disgrace. I remember when people were saying Rick should run for Pres of the US, not anymore, looking like early retirement.

The COL council, well I should say taxpayers, spent several thousand dollars on this report, in the ball park of 25k. Just to sit on it? Why did the DEQ not inform the EPA and state of MI bout these findings? Why is the news not jumping on this with both feet? This is a HUGE deal and this report proves it. I have 2 copies printed and in binders to be read, all 480 pages of it. Action needs to be taken now.

Also, XLFD, thank you for a well thought out and extremely well written article! Ludington residents are fortunate to have someone like you that love their city and fights for what is right. There is so much more to the stories here.......

[AQUAMAN]

Another excellent presentation and follow-up X, thanks. Add to that Willy's accurate observation from top to bottom, well said my friend. I've noticed of late that the troll factor is increasing again at a very face and furious pace. We note this is done when a major cover-up around Ludington is uncovered for the public readers. It's a shame so much corruption and cronyism continues right in front of everyone's face, and nothing is said nor done. I expect this too will be swept under the rug. As for the sewer/water systems ignored, we know they are just floating $13-16Million in bonds that will take decades for taxpayers to pay off. But, given this toxicology report on the PM Bayou, I don't see how the DNR or St. of Mich. can allow this scary pollution to go unabated. And to think it's been there festering for almost a decade now already.

[jfc123]

Further proof:

Michigan State Police, Emergency Management and Homeland Security Division

Status Update: June 13, 2008 at 8 p.m.

Governor’s Declarations under 1976 PA 390, as amended:

On June 13, Governor Granholm signed five separate "state of emergency" proclamations to mobilize direct state resources to assist the following affected local jurisdictions with their most serious health and safety concerns:

• Mason County to provide resources to address the numerous road washouts that occurred in the county due to the June 12-13 storms

Where did the money go? The road, sewage and everything else is still there! Also since the road is there the flow from the drain is not making a clear path out of the bayou. The flow is trended to the south side then up under the bridge, not a straight flow since it is partially blocked by the road and continual build up from the drain. Due to the high contamination there is a dense build up of weeds on the northeast, east, and south sides of the bayou that is making drainage to the pm lake even more difficult. It will get a lot more polluted and dangerous if nothing is done.

I guess the COL council felt that the governors declaration was just free money to use in other areas other than intended. Proof is in the pudding as they say and this report is the pudding. EPA, Mason County, State of MI, Attorney General, who else could also be blamed for lack of follow up?

[Willy]

I don't think Ludington qualified for Mason County funds after that storm of 2008. If I remember correctly that money was intended to be used only for County roads. The City had to apply for help on their own, so It's possible Ludington did the repairs on their own and never intended to address the contamination issue. Just thinking out loud.

[jfc123]

My first post in response shared a link and a copy and paste of the SOM assessment, the second proved the funds availability. The COL did not use any of the funds to clean the road/15 million gallons of estimated RAW sewage that went into the PM bayou ever at all! "They spent it elsewhere", are words from Shays mouth I wish I would have recorded, but I believe it was a meeting I attended that I seen someone record! There is no flow or natural clean up since they let it be. Imagine how nice its going to smell on hot july/august day in the near future if it is left as is. Hope your not near this bayou and the wind isn't blowing your direction! All of the business around the bayou will struggle and eventually fail and the homeowners be held worthless. But lets get that 1.2-1.8 million for the city marina and their upgrades that the taxpayers can pay off! Guess its ok since we are in the 4th ward (like the state treated  Flint), until we get some politicians nuts near a grinder? Sad it is so hard to get things right in this situation! If it wasn't a big deal why did they close the beaches? Oh and to add one of the beaches is right by the intake for your drinking water. This all came from this still dirty, lead filled, creamy corners drain/pm bayou........

[stump]

This happened 7 1/2 years ago. It's not going to stink anymore this summer than it did last summer or the years before. Now with that being said, it probably will cost more now than the money alloted back then. To clean it up properly the bayou probably would have to be drained and excavated to remove all the toxic bottom . Then hauled off to somewhere that would take the chemical polluted waste . How far does it extend? out the bayou? into the channel? into PM lake. I don't think they have enough money for the super fund cleanup. Where did the money go??

[jfc123]

Stump, all the years passed w/o clean up. The weeds overtaking the bayou. The photos of the road in the bayou obstructing flow from the drain circulating back into the bayou.....so much more. And the only reason it will cost more is due to the COL Council, mainly Shay. It is an approx. 1.4 million clean up. But to add how much more can we add to this with a class action lawsuit due to loss of business and more? The COL should act asap.

[jfc123]

Just need to add, before all this mess the salmon used to swim into the bayou to spawn. In a Dock we used to lease to hoist boats every spring was filled with THOUSANDS of salmon spawned ready to be lead into Lake Michigan, maybe even tens of thousands! Was unbelievable! Not seen since though, possibly why fishing has dropped off?

[jfc123]

Why did the state clean out the state park but not this area where all of the debris and raw sewage went into? Granholm signed the clean up order?

[XLFD]

This isn't an isolated type of action/inaction by this city's management.  Already noted is the failure of our leaders to involve the community with the lack of proper discharge permits for four years for the city and Oxychem and their willful avoidance of this by violating the OMA to unlawfully hire a consultant, funneling taxpayer money to our city attorney to do so.

It must be added that when our leaders were apprised last year that the old Lyons store was demolished without any proper removal procedures for the asbestos tiles found throughout the store, the extent of their involvement was Councilor Krauch moving to  amend the minutes to show that a citizen had a tile which was allegedly asbestos, instead of asbestos.  It later turned out to be asbestos, a fact which Mr. Krauch and the council has yet to amend the minutes or even comment on.

Please note that in 2012 the city manager suggested that the site of 428 E Dowland would be a great place for the construction crew to work from when redoing the street on Dowland, but this lot is as bad as the bottom of the bayou in contamination, and the earth that they plopped down on this lot was infused with the topsoil of this lot when it was spread on the front lawn of me and my neighbors.  The city ignored the problem.

So when we suffer all that damage to the bayou in 2008, and the city does some free spending on the unnecessary water tower painting amounting  to $1.2 million the next year, and then plots to put in $1 transient docks at the city marina while the PM Bayou is still festering from their neglect, it is not surprising, but it also is not tolerable to a knowledgeable citizen, who can only blanch when our councilors praise our city manager and themselves.

[Willy]

I took some pictures of a few of the collapsed roads caused by the flooding, including Madison st, Stiles rd, and Hamlin Twp. roads. June 2008

Photo 1- Collapsed Madison st near bayou June 2008

Photo 2 -  Workers in washed out Madison st. June 2008

Photo 3 - A portion of Stiles rd, near West Shore CC washed away June 2008

Photos 4-5-6 - Hamlin Twp roads collapsed June 2008

Photo 4Photo 5

Photo 6

Photo 7 - Epworth building flooded June 2008