ALBA -- Charlevoix resident Connie Saltonstall thinks Michigan's water is too valuable to jeopardize and she wants federal environmental officials to better study the potential effects of a deep-injection disposal well in Antrim County's Star Township.
Saltonstall, a Democratic candidate for state representative in the 105th District, asked the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to study the environmental impacts of the disposal well that the EPA and state regulators approved in February. The risks should be clear before the well begins to pump, she said.
"If there is a problem with the well and the problem is above the water table, the seepage will go into the watershed," Saltonstall said.
The approved well is part of CMS Energy's $140 million cleanup plan for polluted water in Little Traverse Bay, caused by water seepage through old cement factory kiln dust beneath luxury homes in Emmet County's Bay Harbor resort. The contaminated water will be trucked to the Alba site and injected into underground rock formations.
Leachate currently is treated to reduce alkalinity and then trucked to a commercial injection well in Montmorency County and a treatment plant in Grand Traverse County.
Both the EPA and DEQ studied the well and determined it can operate without harming public safety or the environment, said Tim Petrosky, CMS area manager.
The EPA did not complete a specific environmental impact study for the well, but did review impacts as part of the well permit application, said William Bates, EPA permit writer.
State Rep. Kevin Elsenheimer, the 105th's Republican incumbent, also tried to get Gov. Jennifer Granholm to intervene. He asked her to revoke the state permit for the well or at least increase the bond amount in case any spills or leaks require environmental cleanup.
A proper environmental impact study should have been done before the federal and state well permits were issued, Elsenheimer said.
Meanwhile, administrative appeals to the well permits were filed by Gaylord attorney Susan Topp with both the EPA and DEQ on behalf of Antrim County, Star Township and the Friends of the Jordan River Watershed nonprofit group.
The Environmental Appeals Board has not yet decided whether to hear arguments on the federal appeal. A pre-trial telephone conference is set for May 29 for the state appeal, Topp said.
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