BY SHERI McWHIRTER
smcwhirter@record-eagle.com
October 04, 2007 04:00 am ALBA -- A nonprofit group and a township are planning to appeal federal and state permits that would allow a proposed deep-injection disposal well in Antrim County, even though those permits have yet to be issued. A new well may be drilled near Alba to take contaminated water from a cleanup project in Emmet County, a proposition that angered many nearby residents and sparked a grassroots effort this summer to halt the project. "We have the appeals process and the court option to pursue," said John Richter, president of Friends of the Jordan River Watershed. "I think the well will get approved. That's my gut feeling." The well was proposed by a subsidiary of CMS Energy, an investor in the Bay Harbor development near Petoskey. Luxury lakeshore homes were built atop abandoned cement factory kiln dust, which now seeps pollutants into Lake Michigan. The company has a $93 million cleanup there and collected water currently is taken to Grand Traverse County's septage treatment plant and a commercial disposal well in Montmorency County. Permit reviews are under way and if approved by federal and state environmental officials, contaminated water would be sent down a new well near Alba in Star Township. Gaylord attorney Susan Topp represents the township; officials there are ready to file for an administrative contested case hearing, should the federal and state permits be approved. A lawsuit in circuit court is another option, she said. "We are hopeful the federal and state agencies won't issue the permits," Topp said. "Star Township is very committed to opposing the well, as are others." Bob McCann, spokesman for the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, said the agency has hundreds of public comments to consider before making a decision. "We need to hear these comments so when we make a decision, it's the right one on behalf of all the people involved," he said. William Bates, permit writer for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, said its review should be completed in the next two or three months. Company officials want to use the proposed well in Alba until completion and state approval of a wastewater treatment facility being constructed next to East Park in Petoskey. The Alba well would then become a back-up method during maintenance or shutdowns, said Tim Petrosky, CMS area manager. "We're committed to operating it safely and it would be unfortunate if it heads to litigation," he said.
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