The much-maligned Northport sewer project recently received support from two heavy hitters focused on protecting natural resources.

In a letter dated March 27, Andy Knott, executive director of The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay, expressed support for the sewer project on which construction is scheduled to resume this month. The letter was sent to Lee Bowen, chairman of the county Board of Public Works.

“The watershed center has followed the development of Northport’s wastewater treatment plan from the beginning … and has always been support of this effort,” Knott wrote.

Failing septic systems can be a major contributor to pollution.

“In Northport … old and failing septic systems are considered a threat to water quality in the Bay,” he wrote. “Developing a state-of-the-art wastewater treatment plant and sewer system in Northport will remove this threat.”

Support for the project, being financed through the State Revolving Fund, was
also reiterated by Chip Heckathorn, chief of the Revolving Loan and Operator Certification Section, Environmental Science and Services Division of the Department of Environmental Quality. In response to questions raised by Barbara G. Weber of Northport, he reiterated support for his agency’s issuance of a “finding of no significant impact” finalized nearly a year ago today on March 2, 2007.

Issuance of the permit demonstrated “concurrence … that operation of the proposed facility would not violate Michigan groundwater or surface water quality standards,” Heckathorn wrote.