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Owner of PFAS contamination site seeks extension to mine at Boulder Creek

Posted at 10:59 PM, Nov 19, 2018
and last updated 2018-11-19 22:59:28-05

PLAINFIELD TOWNSHIP, Mich. -- The owner of a golf course with a turbulent history and troubled relationship with nearby residents is asking the Plainfield Township Board of Trustees to give his gravel company an extension to mine in an area that has been contaminated for decades.

A representative for Grand Rapids Gravel Company, owned by Andrew Dykema, was at a special public information meeting, held by Plainfield Township on Monday evening to give residents an opportunity to ask questions and voice concerns about the company's request to extend its gravel mining permit for another three years.

For the past year, residents of Plainfield Township have been educating themselves about the sources of PFAS contamination in their drinking water. Township meetings often have large audiences and heated public comments over the issue, and Monday's meeting was no different. Many made it clear to township officials that Dykema's operations are not welcome in their community.

Dykema was not at the meeting. A representative for Sabo PR, a public relations agency hired by Plainfield Township, told FOX 17 at the meeting that board members would not be available for comments and were at the meeting primarily to listen to residents.

Dave Schmitz, a resident who was at the meeting, tells FOX 17 that he's fed up with the activity at Boulder Creek.

“Years ago when I moved out here, I thought I was moving out into the country where it would be nice and quiet," Schmitz says. "What a surprise.”

Schmitz has been living near the golf course for the past 15 years. He says the dust from the mining has been overwhelming, and he hopes it soon comes to an end.

In 1996, Grand Rapids Gravel was approved for a mining permit at the site of Boulder Creek. The permit required that the work to end by 2011. Citing a slow economy, the company got the permit extended to Dec. 31, 2018.

Residents of Plainfield Township who spoke out at the meeting say a major reason they oppose the permit extension is due to the actions of Dykema's companies that have allegedly led to the contamination of PFAS and other harmful chemicals.

Decades ago, Dykema's company was called Northeast Gravel Company and operated at the same site. In 1986, the EPA issued a site inspection report of the Northeast Gravel Company, listing it as a potential hazardous waste site.

The report says, "During landfilling, Northeast Gravel Company accepted dewatered sludge from Wolverine Worldwide Company, a leather tanner located in Rockford, Michigan. This sludge was landfilled in previously unlined trenches..."

The report went on to say that the landfill was eroding, and waste was being exposed in the area, with a strong "detergent-like odor," and that leachate from the waste was seeping out.

“My concern is that there’s probably considerably more sludge there than they found on House Street," concerned resident Irving Bissell said during public comment at the meeting.

In 1991, Northeast Gravel Company was named as a potentially responsible party for the contamination at what is now Boulder Creek. Also on the list of potentially responsible parties was Consumers Power Company and Wolverine Worldwide.

In addition to concerns about spreading of water contamination at the site, residents say dust clouds from the site are hurting their health. One man who spoke at the meeting says he and his family moved to a nearby neighborhood last year and for the first time are experiencing serious respiratory issues.

Another man who spoke said he feels that promises have been broken, and there's a disregard for the people living near the golf course.

“We’ve been putting up with a lot of noise, dirt, it just seems to be ongoing," Schmitz says. "It seems to be getting worse instead of better.”

The neighboring Prestwick Condominium Association strongly opposes expanding the permit, citing worries that residents are being exposed to silica, which can cause lung problems.

“First it was the water we had problems with; now we gotta deal with the dirt and mud and whatever," Schmitz says. "It just seems like there’s no end to it.”

No decision will be made on whether or not to extend the mining permit for Grand Rapids Gravel until there are at least two more public hearings and the Plainfield Township Planning Commission makes a recommendation to the board. That is expected to happen in January 2019.

Meanwhile, Wolverine Worldwide is posting updates on their role in the PFAS crisis on its blog. The most recent post as of Monday was made in August 2018.