A groundwater discharge permit has been issued for the Northport/Leelanau Township sewer project construction that is scheduled to begin this spring.

Chip Heckathorn, chief of the state Department of Environmental Quality's Revolving Loan and Operator Certification Section, confirmed yesterday morning that the permit, required for the $12 million sewer project to continue, was issued March 1 by the state agency.

"This is huge for the village (and township)," said Trustee Barbara VonVoitlander, who serves as the Northport Village Council representative on the Northport/Leelanau Township Utility Authority. "It's a major milestone we had to meet."

The state Department of Environmental Quality has also issued a "finding of no significant impact" (FONSI) for the proposed wastewater treatment facility. The release of the 31-page finding, which was dated March 2, comes about two months after a public hearing on the communities' request for a groundwater discharge permit held by the DEQ. The statement is required for the $12 million project to be financed through the State Revolving Fund, which makes money available at 1 5/8 percent interest.

About 100 people attended the Jan. 11 hearing on the permit. which will allow the discharge of 405,000 gallons of treated wastewater into the groundwater.

Many attending the hearing argued that there was no demonstrated need for the system and that no documented health issues have arisen due to the lack of a municipal sewer in Northport.

Christopher Grobbel of Grobbel Environmental Associates, who spoke on behalf of the Leelanau Forum at the hearing, expressed concerns about the proposed system that he believes is too large for the community.

Grobbel's criticism continued after receipt of the FOSNI via email Tuesday afternoon.

"It relies on a needs study done by their engineering firm in which the need for a fix has been overblown, overstated and is out-of-scale and out of character for the needs in the area," Grobbel said.

The environmental consultant said the finding fails to address problematic soil conditions at the treatment location off High Street, which includes the former lagoons used by the Leelanau Memorial Health Center.

"(The FONSI) is a recitation of the previous work that has gotten us to this point in error," Grobbel said. "It’s too big. It should be scaled back … regionalized like that done in Peshawbestown to include the downtown and a few areas in and around the village."

Samples taken from the Northport Creek watershed in 2004 identified "excessive nutrient loading" and algae blooms at Mill Pond, which can be indicators of pollution from failed drainfields. This was on the heels of a summer 2003 sampling that found elevated E. coli counts at the bathing beach.

This data and the fact that nearly half of the occupied parcels in the village have septic systems built before 1970 is cited in the DEQ report’s "conclusion of need".

Questions were raised at the January hearing about whether there is sufficient distance from the infiltration beds and the aquifer from which the village water supply is drawn. Two municipal wells are located near the creek where treated effluent will travel on its way to the bay.

Two of the wells are outside the 2,000-foot isolation distance from the treatment facility. The third is 1,270 feet from the facility. However, a 1997 DEQ review cited in the report concluded that the well draws from a deep confined aquifer separated from the filtration area by a 20-foot thick layer of clay.

"The discharge from the proposed (wastewater treatment facility) will not migrate towards (the third well), but towards Northport Creek," the report states.

The finding took into account a review by the Grand Traverse Band of Ottawa & Chippewa Indians; Leelanau County Road Commission; MDEQ air quality, land and water management, remediation and redevelopment divisions and water bureau; state Department of History, Arts and Libraries; Department of Natural Resources (wildlife division); Michigan Department of Transportation; Northwest Michigan Council of Governments and U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.

by Amy Hubbell
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