GRAND HAVEN, Mich. — Local leaders in the Grand Haven area are losing patience over delayed harbor dredging, sending a letter to Governor Gretchen Whitmer demanding action as concerns grow about economic impacts.
While dredging in Grand Haven's outer harbor begins May 13, dredging in Grand Haven's inner harbor has been put on hold.
Ottawa County Commissioner Josh Brugger drafted a letter calling on the Governor to help speed the process along. The letter was signed by Grand Haven mayor Robert Monetza, Ferrysburg mayor Richard Carlson, as well as the supervisor and president of Spring Lake Township — Jerry Rabideau and Mark Powers.
"We just want the Governor's help to expedite the permit," said the project management director for Grand Haven, Derek Gajdos.
The Grand Haven harbor brings in 2 million tons of aggregate every year, supplying road construction materials, gravel, and road salt across Michigan. Gajdos said he's concerned the port's $88.8 million in annual revenue could be in jeopardy and prices could increase, "just because the harbor's not dredged."
"[Freighters] don't have a solution to put those [materials] elsewhere. So it would really affect the regional economy, not just Grand Haven," Gajdos explained.
Dredging maintains navigable channels and depths for large vessels, but the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) found the inner harbor could contain cancer-causing chemicals called PFAS, halting the process to prevent additional environmental impacts.
"We still want to protect the public, just as much as EGLE and the Governor, but we need to do it in a manner where it doesn't bring the harbor's economy to a screeching halt," Gajdos said.
As long as the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gets approval from EGLE, they expect to be able to dredge the full harbor until fall of next year. Meanwhile, they're sending sediment data to EGLE, hoping to identify safe areas that will allow them to begin dredging sooner.
Chief of Environmental Analysis, with the Detroit division of the U.S. Corps of Engineers, Charlie Uhlarik, says sediment data of the upper portion of the inner channel that's already been sent to EGLE was determined to be free of PFAS.
"Below that, EGLE wanted some sediment to determine if there was any PFAS, so we just took that sediment sampling on Thursday," Uhlarik explained.
On Thursday, EGLE issued a 30-day public comment period starting May 8 that, when concluded, would allow dredging in certain portions of the harbor. The agency said in a letter, "Assuming no major issues arise during the public comment period, EGLE expects to issue the certification in June."
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