# DEQ wants tougher rules on clearing Great Lakes beaches



## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

DEQ wants tougher rules on clearing Great Lakes beaches 

http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/storie...IOL-?SITE=MIDTN&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT
By JOHN FLESHER

TRAVERSE CITY, Mich. (AP) -- Tighter restrictions should be imposed on clearing vegetation from Great Lakes shorelines because it alters water chemistry and damages fish habitat, state regulators said.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality on Monday said a recent scientific analysis showed that uprooting aquatic plants in coastal wetlands harms young game fish such as yellow perch and bass. It also reduces populations of invertebrates such as insects and snails that form crucial links in the aquatic food chain, the agency said.

"This research has shown that protecting coastal wetlands and maintaining the integrity of the vegetation is more important ecologically than we ever knew before," said Wil Cwikiel, assistant chief of the DEQ's land and water management division.

Shoreline property owners in some areas have pushed for the right to remove vegetation that sprouted in exposed bottomland areas when lake levels began dropping in the late 1990s. Some resort and hotel owners say the flora is unsightly on beaches and bad for business.

Environmentalists say the vegetation growth is a natural occurrence and is important to preserve wildlife habitat and prevent erosion.

"Coastal wetlands serve as critical habitat for fish and wildlife and drive nearly a billion dollars in economic activity in the state from sport fishing," said Sam Washington, executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs.

About 90 percent of the 200 fish species in the Great Lakes use coastal wetlands for spawning, feeding and other crucial activities, said Rebecca Humphries, director of the state Department of Natural Resources. They also provide a refuge for native fish under siege from invasive species, Cwikiel said.

The state Legislature in 2003 temporarily exempted mowing and other beach maintenance activities such as raking and leveling sand from the wetland protection law. And it established two areas - Saginaw Bay on Lake Huron and Lake Michigan's Grand Traverse Bay - where proposals to completely remove waterfront vegetation would be given expedited consideration.

The law instructed the DEQ to evaluate the effects of the new procedures and issue a report. Scientists with Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University led the study.

Unless extended by the Legislature, the law dealing with Saginaw and Grand Traverse bays will expire June 3. The beach maintenance law is scheduled to lapse Nov. 1, 2007.

Based on the study's findings, the DEQ wants to let both measures expire and replace them with new rules.

Under the proposed regulations, vegetation removal would require a permit - a higher hurdle than the expedited letter of request now required for the two bays. The agency has approved 78 of 90 such requests since the 2003 law took effect.

The DEQ said it typically would grant a permit for uprooting exotic plant species such as phragmites, which have invaded beaches in the Saginaw Bay area. Vegetation removal for other reasons might be approved if it wouldn't do major harm to coastal habitat or neighboring properties.

The DEQ said it would try to simplify its permitting process and coordinate more closely with the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, whose approval also is needed to alter shoreline vegetation.

Additionally, the DEQ said it would set new rules for beach maintenance after the existing ones expire. Minimal activities such as raking that don't disturb plant roots would be allowed, but permits would be required for more substantial actions such as mowing and mechanical disking. The type of permit would depend on how disruptive the work would be.

"The DEQ staff will work with property owners through our permit program to ensure Michigan's citizens can enjoy access to our waters," DEQ director Steven Chester said in a statement. "At the same time, we will protect the bottomland vegetation that provides habitat for the vast populations of fish and wildlife that rely upon them."

------
Editor's note: John Flesher is the AP correspondent in Traverse City and has covered environmental issues since 1992.

On the Net:
DEQ report: http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0 ,1607,7-135-3313-3687-10202--,00.html


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Beach Reapers Editorial: March 28, 2006
Cutting plants when water is low hurts fish later

http://www.freep.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20060328/OPINION01/603280324/1068/OPINION

Fewer plants, fewer fish. It's as simple as that.

Research along Saginaw and Grand Traverse Bays should put to rest the agitation among some beachfront property owners to plow down all shoreline vegetation when it emerges during low-water years. The study found indisputable harm to fish when water levels rise again and cover the shoreline areas from which plants were removed.

Abysmally low water levels in 2003 along Lakes Michigan and Huron touched off this battle. As the water receded and exposed bottomland, plant life flourished in the marshy pockets left behind. The Legislature tumbled to the pleas of some lakeside landowners, ordering the state Department of Environmental Quality to back off for several years from rules designed to protect the plants. Homeowners got more leeway to mow, rake and rearrange the bottomlands.

The DEQ recommends letting the damaging rules expire as scheduled this year and next. Some activities would still be allowed, such as mowing twice per season with at least two inches of the plants left standing, over a swath up to 40 feet wide. Homeowners also could lay down a path of sand and pebbles up to 6 feet wide to get through the vegetation to the water.

If places such as Saginaw Bay are going to continue to nurture the fish Michiganders enjoy catching, even this much work may be too much. Lawmakers need to pay close attention as they hear the research details today at a committee hearing in Lansing. The health of Michigan's fisheries is in their hands.


Beach damage

During low water levels of the last few years, some landowners cleared out plants that grew on the newly exposed bottomlands of the Great Lakes. Researchers noted these changes occurring in areas where water had risen again to cover areas where plants had been removed:

Fewer fish, and fewer kinds of fish, were found. 

Small critters that fish eat -- such as aquatic insects and mollusks -- declined significantly. 

Suitable habitat for spawning dwindled, especially for yellow perch and smallmouth bass. 

Native plants, particularly bulrushes, died off quickly once roots were pulled or frequently disturbed. 

Invasive plants increased. 

Signs of shoreline erosion were spotted, although not quantified. 

Temperatures and other conditions of the water changed along the shoreline, both in the cleared areas and in areas adjacent to them. 

The report is available at www.michigan.gov/deqwetlands.Source: "Report on the Impacts of Beach Maintenance and Removal of Vegetation" summarizing research by Don Uzarski, Grand Valley State University, with students Keto Gyekis and Matthew Cooper; Thomas Burton, Michigan State University; and Dennis Albert, MSU Extension.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Local fight over beach goes to Lansing

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-6/114364891956050.xml&coll=4

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 By JEFF KART TIMES WRITER

Green beaches are good, scientists told state legislators Tuesday, but some local lawmakers left unconvinced. 

Scientists who conducted a report for the state Department of Environmental Quality presented their findings to joint committees in the state House and Senate in Lansing. 

The DEQ is proposing to tighten rules that allow property owners to groom the vegetation on their beaches because research shows the practice harms the environment.

''I guess I can say I'm not surprised the report came back the way it did,'' said Rep. Tim Moore, R-Farwell, who heard testimony as a member of the House Committee on Natural Resources, Great Lakes, Land Use, and Environment. 

''I can't imagine it coming back and saying, 'Wow, beach grooming has absolutely no effect.''' 

A law that established the Saginaw Bay and Grand Traverse Bay as pilot areas for beach maintenance expires in June. The DEQ wants to replace that law, and a related law that expires in 2007, with new permitting rules. 

Moore said he thinks the bay law should be extended for one or two years, so more study can be done on the effects beach maintenance has on tourism and home values. He said he doesn't think 78 grooming permits granted in the two bays since 2003 has had an adverse impact on the environment. 

Ernie Krygier, a Bay County commissioner and head of Save Our Shoreline, also was at the hearing. He said it's important to protect established wetlands, but the DEQ seems bent on putting a ''green belt'' around the Great Lakes. 

''Just because I have a clean beach in front of my house doesn't mean I've in any way eliminated the perch population in the Saginaw Bay,'' Krygier said. 

Robert McCann, DEQ spokesman in Lansing, said his agency is just trying to find a balance. A public meeting on the beach report is planned for a later date in the Saginaw Bay area, McCann said.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Lawmakers are obligated to put the lakes first

http://www.record-eagle.com/2006/mar/28edit.htm

Armed with new evidence of the damage that clearing shoreline vegetation can do to Great Lakes fish species, the state's environmental watchdog agencies should immediately clamp down on beachfront owners who want to do any substantial work to their beaches.

More directly, the state Legislature should immediately rescind exemptions it issued in 2003 to the state's weland protection laws to allow mowing, raking and leveling sand along the lakes and even more destructive work in Saginaw and Grand Traverse bays. 

The bays law isn't due to expire until June, but plenty of damage could be done by then. The wider maintenance exemption runs until November 2007.

Given the new evidence, Traverse City-area lawmakers  namely Sen. Jason Allen and Rep. Howard Walker  should lead the charge. Grand Traverse Bay is easily the area's greatest natural asset, and it's their obligation to see that it is given maximum protection. 

Since it began, the beach grooming debate has been a clear case of special interests pitted against the greater public good, and so far, special interests have won out. The new report, however, should remove any doubt that the public good lies in protecting coastal wetlands, not in the desires of the influential few.

The study, ordered by the Legislature when it bowed to heavy lobbying in 2003 to give greater latitude to beach-grooming requests, showed that about 90 percent of the Great Lakes' 200 fish species use coastal wetlands for spawning, the Associated Press reported. 

A Department of Environmental Quality official also told the AP that coastal wetlands are a refuge for native species under pressure from invasive species.

The analysis, the AP said, showed that uprooting aquatic plants in coastal wetlands harms young game fish, including yellow perch and bass. It can also endanger the aquatic food chain by reducing the number of snails and insects.

That is damning evidence that beach grooming efforts do more than provide homeowners and resort operators with more attractive beaches. The damage is real, and it must stop.

The DEQ has said it wants to issue new rules that will require a permit for the kinds of wholesale alterations seen in Saginaw and Grand Traverse bays in the last three years. Currently, only a "letter of intent" is required.

The Legislature essentially challenged the DEQ to find evidence that intrusive beach grooming harms the Lakes.

Now that they've got it, it's time for them to put Michigan citizens and the Great Lakes first.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Beach grooming rightly rides off into the sunset 

http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16417929&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6

04/02/2006 Steve Griffin, Midland Daily News

It's time for sunset to claim the grooming of exposed Great Lakes bottomlands. 

When the Michigan Legislature in 2003 wrestled with the issue of vegetation removal by owners of adjacent land, it established two pilot areas-- Saginaw Bay and Traverse Bay-- it could be conducted, under sped-up permitting. 

A two-year study of effects was also ordered, and June 2006 established as sunset, when the authorization would end. 

Well, the study was done, the report is in, and the law allowing beach grooming is scheduled to die under a sunset provision 

And die it should. 

In the study, a team of scientists from Michigan State University and Grand Valley State University compared groomed beaches with similar, ungroomed beaches nearby. 

Researchers measured how fish populations, other animals, and marsh plants were affected by grooming. 

They found that clearing coastal marsh vegetation chemically and physically changed it and its waters, the DEQ reported. 


It slashed the number of invertebrate animals available to fish and other creatures. 

It reduced or wiped out habitat for yellow perch, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and other fish.

The evidence was clear, and so, DEQ Director Stephen Chester has recommended that the Michigan Legislature let the 2003 legislation die. 

Chester said his DEQ will work with landowners to minimize the sunset's impact The balancing act will be difficult-- but a tie should always be decided in favor of nature. 

Expect howls. People think owning land along a lake means they can do what they like with both their land and the lake. 

Beach grooming makes coastal wetland areas more pleasing to some people, but it makes them less hospitable to the rest of nature. 

I learned that last summer, plodding through a Saginaw Bay marsh with wetlands expert Dr. Donald Uzarski of Grand Valley State University, a leader of the study team. 

Uzarksi smiled when his footsteps produced a foul, rotten-egg smell. "That means the marsh is working, doing just what it's supposed to do." 

Here the wet soil held no oxygen but plenty of specialized life that consumes and fixes nitrates, manganese, iron, sulfates and finally, methane-- the last two stinky to our noses. 

A healthy coastal marsh is a series of zones and transitions-- from land to water, from ionized groundwater to non-ionized water, from low-oxygen waters near shore to well-oxygenated water offshore. This was just one zone. 

And marshes, like lakes, are ever changing. Great Lakes levels rise and fall over time. When they fall, vegetation grows on exposed bottomlands, thanks to seeds that lay long in the muck under water. 

Most wetland plants only sprout when exposed to air. 

Nature, you see, has adapted to cyclic water levels. People haven't so well, especially people who have invested in property on the Great Lakes. 

Naturally enough, they don't want funky-smelling junk growing where their families want to play. 

Unfortunately, that funky-smelling junk is a valuable, working part of the ecosystem in which these people choose to live - and the larger systems in which we all live. 

Sam Washington, executive director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs, didn't mince any words about beach grooming last fall. He called it "an abomination." 

"People want to groom based on aesthetics, rather than ecological value. What they call grooming I call destroying." 

The study agrees, and DEQ's recommendation is clear: 

Let the beach grooming law die, and let wetlands do their important work. 

Copies of the DEQ report and the research reports are available on the DEQ website at www.michigan.gov/deqwetlands.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

The Great Lakes Need Your Help!!!

On Wednesday, May 17, the MDEQ will hold a hearing in Traverse City to gather to public input regarding the beach grooming laws that were passed several years ago. 

The hearing will be held at the Hagerty Center from 7-9 p.m.

The MDEQ recently published a study which outlines the environmental impacts of these laws. The study was conducted by well-known experts on coastal wetlands. The study is available at http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3313_3687-10202--,00.html. 

This very thorough scientific study identifies the clearly negative impact of beach dooming on critical coastal wetland habitats and fish populations. If you care about the health of our Great Lakes ecosystem, please come to this hearing and let your voice be heard.

These laws are due to sunset off the books in 2006. In their place, the MDEQ has recommended the adoption of general permits to allow for limited measures to allow water access. These permits are also available on the site above.

Please consider attending and speaking on behalf of protecting our Great Lakes shoreline from ill-advised and damaging beach dooming.

Call John Nelson or Anne Brasie at 935-1514 if you have questions.

Kellie Ferguson
Operations Coordinator
Assistant Project Coordinator
The Watershed Center Grand Traverse Bay
232 E. Front St.
Traverse City, MI 49684
231.935.1514
fax 231.935.3829


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
June 5, 2006

Contact: Robert McCann (517) 241-7397

Cooperative Effort Creates Innovative Beach Grooming Agreement

The Department of Environmental Quality announced an agreement today between the state, shoreline property advocates, and environmental groups that will protect Michigan's Great Lakes coastal resources while allowing Michigan residents access to our vast water resources. The agreement comes following a number of meetings between the DEQ and the public to discuss the impacts of beach grooming, and develop a long-term strategy to determine what types of maintenance activities should be allowed, and how to control the spread of Phragmites and other invasive shoreline plants.

In June of 2003, the Michigan Legislature exempted mowing and other beach maintenance activities from wetland protection requirements, and established two pilot areas where vegetation removal in Great Lakes coastal wetlands would be given expedited approval.

The DEQ released an independent study earlier this year that showed that clearing vegetation through a coastal marsh alters the conditions of nearshore waters, reducing or eliminating habitat for Michigan's important game fish including yellow perch, smallmouth bass, and largemouth bass. 

In light of this research, DEQ Director Steven E. Chester recommended to the Legislature that the provisions created through the 2003 legislation be allowed to expire, but made it clear that the DEQ would continue to work with concerned property owners and residents to address their concerns.

"We have developed a policy that helps property owners and DEQ staff work better together," said Director Chester. "This is a great example of all sides of an issue coming together and working towards the common good, and is truly a step forward in keeping our environment safe." 

Director Chester thanked the shoreline property owners and environmental groups for their help in creating a collaborative process to develop an improved approach to regulating shoreline vegetation and beach maintenance. The ongoing process may eliminate the need for new legislation, and will result in a workgroup being established to develop preliminary recommendations to address beach maintenance and vegetation removal by the end of July, 2006, with a final management plan in place by July, 2007. The agreement also calls on the DEQ to release an Interim Policy Guidance that explains what activities are currently allowed under Michigan law.

"I am encouraged by the discussions between the shoreline property owners and the DEQ," said Ernie Krygier, President of Save Our Shoreline. "By working together, my hope is that we will develop a long term plan for our beaches that will respect the property rights and needs of the homeowners, while protecting valuable resources."

The Interim Policy Guidance makes it clear that landowners who have historically removed vegetation by legal means may continue to maintain the area free of vegetation without the need for additional permits. This work can also be done on shorelines that are naturally free of vegetation.

The guidance also outlines other activities that can be conducted without a permit from the DEQ, though it specifies that some of them may require a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers. For work that does require a permit, DEQ staff will work to process applications as quickly as possible. Permit applications are available on the Web site, or in local DEQ offices.

"We were interested in finding a common-sense resolution to this issue which recognized the critical role coastal wetlands play for our wildlife and fisheries resources," said Sam Washington, Executive Director of the Michigan United Conservation Clubs. "We believe that this Agreement meets our goals."

The interim policy guideline will be available on the DEQ's Web site at www.michigan.gov/deq


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Wetlands are worth a bundle

http://www.mlive.com/columns/bctimes/jeff_kart/index.ssf?/base/news-0/115281091475980.xml&coll=4

Thursday, July 13, 2006 by Jeff Kart 894-9639 [email protected]. 

Saginaw Bay coastal marshes are worth $239 million. 
That startling figure comes from a report by Ducks Unlimited and the Tip of the Mitt Watershed Council. 

The groups, with help from state and federal agencies, wanted to put a dollar value on the benefits that wetlands provide, from cleaner water to flood reduction, healthy fish and abundant wildlife.

Researchers came up with the $239 million figure by asking anglers and residents what they'd be willing to pay to protect wetlands. The dollar amount is based on recreational uses that wetlands provide, like fishing. 

Find the full report at www.tinyurl.com/nple6.

Economic Values of Saginaw Bay Coastal Marshes
With a Focus on Recreational Values


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Cleaner, more usable Saginaw Bay is the goal as new group gets going 

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1156346347307350.xml&coll=4

Wednesday, August 23, 2006 By JEFF KART TIMES WRITER [email protected]

Beach muck, invasive phragmites and sewage discharges are some things people associate with the Saginaw Bay. 

A regional effort called the Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative is forming to attack the problems. 

The group, spearheaded by state Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester, will meet for the first time at 12:30 p.m. Aug. 31 at the Doubletree hotel and conference center in downtown Bay City.

Officials and others from communities along the shoreline and in the watershed, from Arenac to Huron counties, have been invited, organizers say. 

Chester is slated to attend, along with state Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca A. Humphries and state Department of History, Arts and Libraries Director William Anderson. 

''We want to work with the local leadership,'' said Robert McCann, DEQ spokesman. 

''They want to bring people back to this area and make it a tourist spot like it used to be a couple decades ago. That's certainly an effort we can support.'' 

Chester has been discussing the initiative with Ernie Krygier, a Bay County commissioner who also heads up Save Our Shoreline, a local property rights group. 

Krygier has been working - and fighting - with the DEQ for years over the grooming of vegetation, including tall phragmites plants, on bottomlands exposed by low-water levels. 

He's hoping the initiative will spur real action in cleaning up the bay.

''We've gone too long just talking about it,'' Krygier said. 

He thinks it's pathetic that people in the Bay City area are surrounded by water but don't have a decent public beach for swimming. 

The beach at the Bay City State Recreation Area has been plagued by smelly organic debris washing up on its eastern end, right where two floating piers were recently installed.

Foot-high piles of muck also have been collecting along the shores of Hume Township in Huron County, east of Caseville. 

The Singing Bridge Beach in Arenac County was recently flagged as a ''beach bum'' in a Natural Resources Defense Council report because it has had ongoing problems with high E. coli bacteria counts. 

DEQ officials have said the muck and E. coli likely are caused by everything from sewage overflows to faulty septic systems and farm and residential runoff that feed plant life in the bay. 

Krygier said he'd like to see the initiative tap into federal and other funding for short-term improvements, like skimming muck out of public beaches or treating beach areas with herbicide to reduce the muck that washes in. 

''We put a man on the moon,'' Krygier said. ''Why can't we clean the beach?'' 

In the long term, he'd like to see improvements like increasing the retention capacity of city sewer systems, upgrading old septic systems in shoreline communities and better controlling farm runoff. 

''I understand that this can't happen overnight, but it's time that we can have a vision,'' Krygier said. 

''It can happen in our lifetime. We can clean this bay up.'' 

McCann said it's too early to commit to any cleanup plans. 

But he visited the Bay City state park beach last week and said ''there's obviously muck on the shore there. It's hard to miss it.'' 

McCann said he's not sure if there are short-term fixes for the muck problem, however. 

He said addressing the bay's problems is a long-term task, and hopefully a regional effort can have some effect. 

''We certainly would want to see people be able to enjoy the water again,'' he said.


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## Ranger Ray (Mar 2, 2003)

Gee, I wonder what they would find if they did a study on the effects of dredging marinas yearly.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Huron County Health Department: Avoid beach 'muck' 

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1156518957127930.xml&coll=4

Friday, August 25, 2006 By JEFF KART TIMES WRITER [email protected]

BADAXE - The results of private DNA tests on Huron County beach muck are expected in about two weeks. 

Meanwhile, the County Health Department is advising people to be wary of the gunk. 

Jim Roland, one of two Oak Beach residents in Hume Township who put up $1,500 for the DNA testing, said there's been a delay at the Florida lab where the muck was sent, but he expects to have results in 10-14 days.

Earlier tests on the muck, sampled at Oak Beach by Huron Water Testing in Bad Axe, showed the gunk was soaked with high levels of E. coli bacteria, found in human and animal feces. The levels were 20 times what the state considers safe for swimming. 

DNA tests are being done to see if the bacteria came from humans or animals, or both. 

Some shoreline residents blame the muck, a mix of dead algae and sand, on large farms in the county. Some farmers say it may be due to shoreline residents with faulty septic systems. 

Roland said he hasn't heard from any state Department of Environmental Quality officials since the test results were publicized in early August. 

But he said he sent a letter to DEQ Director Steve Chester and contacted Joan Rose, a noted Michigan State University microbiologist, about conducting further tests. 

Huron County health officials said in a statement this week that people should use caution when coming into contact with the muck. 

''The Huron County Health Department is concerned with the health of our residents and visitors,'' the statement reads. 

''Until the exact nature of the debris that is causing the concern is identified, the department is advising limited contact with the debris and washing with soap and water if you do come in contact with the debris. 

''People with open sores and wounds and anyone that may ingest the material should avoid the 'muck' areas.'' 

The statement also says the health department doesn't know who collected the Oak Beach samples, how they were tested, or the methodology used. 

Huron Water Testing says it followed accepted federal testing standards. 

Health Department officials say samples they've taken of beach water this summer have been within state standards for E. coli.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 29, 2006

Contact: Robert McCann (517) 241-7397

DEQ to Host Public Meeting to Discuss Muck Issue In Saginaw Bay Region

Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester will be hosting a public meeting in Bay City to discuss the issue of shoreline muck along the Saginaw Bay coastline. DEQ officials will be on hand to answer the publics questions about the source of the muck, its potential health effects, and what property owners can do to control it.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, August 31, at 6:00 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in Bay City. Director Chester will be joined at the meeting by Senator Jim Barcia who has assisted the DEQ efforts to move this process forward.

Addressing muck along the shoreline of Saginaw Bay is obviously an issue of great importance to this area, said Director Chester. I look forward to hearing the thoughts and concerns of the residents of this region as to how we can best improve and maintain this vast coastline.

The meeting will take place following the initial meeting of the Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative earlier in the day. Director Chester, along with Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca A. Humphries, and Department of History, Arts and Libraries Director William Anderson will be discussing efforts with local leaders to develop innovative approaches to expand local tourism and economic development in the Saginaw Bay coastal area while continuing to improve the quality of the environment and the ecology of the region.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
August 31, 2006

Contact: Robert McCann (517) 241-7397

Court Confirms Ruling against Developers Who Destroyed Wetlands

On August 21, 2006, the Honorable Judge William J. Caprathe of the 18th Judicial Circuit Court upheld the criminal convictions of two Mid-Michigan developers for destroying over 15 acres of wetlands in Bay County. 

The case involves Tom Kozak Sr. and his son Tom Kozak Jr. preparing a 26 acre site for a mobile home park in Kawkawlin Township. The Department of Environmental Quality notified the Kozaks in 1998, 2000, and 2001 of the presence of regulated wetlands on the site and provided them with information on the permitting requirements of Michigan's wetlands law. At no point in the process, however, was a permit application filed or any information regarding activities on the site submitted to the department.

We are pleased that our courts continue to uphold the importance of protecting Michigans wetlands, said DEQ Director Steven E. Chester. Our department makes every effort to work with developers, but these two individuals chose to ignore the law and destroy an important part of Michigans ecology.

The Kozaks were found guilty by a district court jury on July 15, 2005, and were sentenced by Judge Craig Alston to restore the property to wetland condition and pay fines and costs. The defendants appealed their conviction and the restoration order to the Circuit Court, however, in a thirteen-page written opinion, Judge Caprathe ruled their claims were without merit, and lifted the Stay on their Sentence.

"Michigan sits astride the largest body of fresh water in the world, the Great Lakes, and wetlands filter out pollutants that would otherwise enter those lakes. That's why Michigan's wetlands law is so important, and that is why we take violations of the law so seriously," Attorney General Mike Cox said.

The Department of Environmental Quality investigated the case and referred it to the Department Attorney General for prosecution.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Beach muck DNA tests are back

http://www.mlive.com/columns/bctimes/jeff_kart/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1162484207232590.xml&coll=4

11/02/06 Jeff Kart [email protected]

Beach season is over, unless you're daring enough to swim in the fall. 
But folks in the Thumb haven't stop thinking about the cruddy muck that fouled shores this summer, and got the attention of government leaders. 

At a Huron County Board of Commissioners meeting last week, officials said they can't do anything about state and federal requirements that say beach testing has to be conducted in at least 3 feet of water, according to a story in the Huron Daily Tribune.

But a commissioner says board members plan to petition federal and state officials to change the testing requirements. 

A private company hired by Oak Beach residents in Hume Township tested beach muck earlier this year and found levels of E. coli bacteria that were 20 times what the state says is safe for swimming. 

But the County Health Department never closed a beach, because government testing money it receives is tied to state and federal requirements that say the tests have to be done in water that's at least 3 feet deep, to simulate ''total body contact.'' 

Hume Township resident Warner Price and others think that doesn't make much sense, since people have to walk through the bacteria-laden muck to get to deeper water. 

Price said he plans to announce the results of DNA tests on the muck at a County Board meeting next week, and present resolutions from 11 townships and three medical associations asking for a moratorium on new factory farms in the area until a study about possible health hazards can be conducted. 

By the way, State Sen. Jim Barcia, D-Bay City, plans to host a muck meeting in the near future at Caseville High School with Juli Dyble, a research biologist with the federal Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory in Ann Arbor. A date has not been set.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

It'll take more study to determine what's in Lake Huron beach muck

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-8/1163693826217150.xml&coll=4

11/16/06 By JEFF KART TIMES WRITER

Jim Roland would love to say with certainty that fecal-laden muck washing up on Huron County beaches is linked to farm animals. 

But for the second time, he can't. 

Roland helped collect muck from near his home on Oak Beach in Hume Township in September, and tests were performed by microbiologist Joan Rose at Michigan State University.

But the results were inconclusive on the origins of the muck, Roland said. He and another resident also paid for DNA tests by a Florida lab earlier this year, which also came back as ''inconclusive,'' Roland said. 

Roland has complained that the state Department of Environmental Quality isn't doing enough to curb the muck, which he believes is connected to the many so-called factory farms in the county. 

Farmers have said the muck may be connected to failing septic systems used by shoreline residents. DEQ officials say they're studying the problem, which they believe is fueled by invasive species and a variety of nutrients that cause excess algae growth in the Saginaw Bay. 

Roland says he's at least heartened that the Huron County Health Department is looking for money to begin testing the muck, which, he says, piles up on the shoreline and stinks. 

The Times has been unable to reach MSU researcher Rose for comment this week. 

Her report, dated Oct. 19, says the muck was analyzed for three kinds of fecal bacteria associated with human and animal wastes and that agriculture and septic systems are among potential sources of the bacteria found. 

It recommends ''further studies to identify actual sources of fecal contamination in Lake Huron and ensure the lake water is safe for recreational uses.'' 

Huron County Health Officer Gretchen Tenbusch and Environmental Health Director Dale E. Lipar wrote to the DEQ earlier this month about the muck issue. 

Lipar said the county asked the DEQ to reconsider the requirement that bacteria testing be done in at least 3 feet of water, and allow for testing in a foot of water, to get a better handle on bacteria in the muck and what health risks it may pose to beachgoers. 

County health officials also are asking the DEQ to consider funding a muck research project there.

Shannon Briggs, a DEQ toxicologist, said the county can sample in a foot of water, as is done in other states. 

But it would need more money to conduct the tests. 

Federal funding for Huron County testing is tied to 1986 studies that compared illness reports to sample areas. 

''The one place that correlated the most with illness reports was samples in 3-6 feet (of water),'' Briggs said. 

She said there are various grants Huron County can apply for to fund further testing.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

First focus of initiative: Muck 

Officials say the muck-like algae lining many areas of the Saginaw Bay coastline this past summer  and many past summers  has been item No. 1 on the Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiatives agenda.

http://www.michigansthumb.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=18060019&BRD=2292&PAG=461&dept_id=571474&rfi=6


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Want a nicer beach?

http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-9/1173370643133970.xml&coll=4

03/08/07 By JEFF KART TIMES WRITER 894-9639 [email protected].

A nice beach or a nice lawn? Saginaw Bay area residents may have to choose. 

A Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative is working on a number of efforts to enhance the environment and the economy here. 

One proposal that hasn't come up yet is a ban on phosphorus lawn fertilizers.

Charlie Bauer, an analyst with the state Department of Environmental Quality, says a ban would be an effective way to curb problems with muck that has been fouling Saginaw Bay beaches. 

''It's been done in several areas,'' Bauer told about 20 people gathered for a meeting on the initiative Wednesday night. 

''I think there are models out there that can be followed in this area. It's not like cutting a new tooth.'' 

Phosphorus, a nutrient used in lawn fertilizers, is also an environmental stressor. 

It washes off landscapes and into storm drains and spurs algae growth in the Saginaw Bay during the spring. When summer comes along, the algae dies off and washes up on beaches, turning away swimmers and others. 

Some area beach muck also has been shown to contain high levels of E. coli bacteria. 

The agricultural industry manages the amount of phosphorus it uses, because it's a money issue, Bauer said. But many residents apply phosphorus fertilizers without even looking at the bag, even though phosphorus-free alternatives are available.

Several of the people at Wednesday's meeting at the Bay City State Recreation Area said they're in favor of a phosphorus fertilizer ban. 

Most Michigan soils already have more than enough phosphorus to support lush lawns and gardens, according to the Michigan Environmental Council in Lansing. 

Roger Nugent, executive director of BaySail, a nonprofit that operates two schooners out of downtown Bay City, said he thinks a phosphorus ban is long overdue.

''This has been an issue for my entire lifetime,'' said Nugent, 41. ''It's amazing that we're still dragging our feet.'' 

Bob Cnare, a retired engineer who lives in Monitor Township, said he's been in favor of a ban for at least five years. 

''I'm disappointed I'm not able to come out here and swim,'' he said of the state park. ''The muck on the beaches is the key.'' 

Brenda Brouillet, a DEQ supervisor in Bay City, said a ban would need to be locally driven. She said the DEQ may bring in experts from other communities with bans in place to talk to residents about successes they've had. Other communities to ban phosphorus fertilizers include Ottawa and Muskegon counties, where one official called phosphorus ''junk food for algae.'' 

Nugent said a ban would be mostly painless. 

''Our lawns don't have to be perfect,'' he said. 

Bauer said an expert panel is due to release a report on health issues related to muck, such as testing and thresholds for public health advisories, at a May 2 meeting of the initiative at the Doubletree hotel and conference center in downtown Bay City. 

''All the bad stuff aside, there's really incredible potential for this watershed,'' Bauer said. 

More information on the initiative is available online at www.michigan.gov/deq under &quot;Issues to Watch.''


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

New rules would allow some to groom Great Lakes beaches
Proposal seeks to please landowners, environmentalists

http://www.lsj.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20070428/NEWS01/704280316/1002/CONTACTUS01

04/28/07 

BAY CITY - Lakefront property owners frustrated with vegetation exposed by falling water levels could obtain permits to groom their beaches under proposed state regulations.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality has proposed a system of five-year general permits for Great Lakes beach maintenance.

The department has set a May 6 deadline for comments on the plan, which would take effect Nov. 1. It would replace interim regulations in effect since 2003.

Advertisement

The rules seek a middle ground between the desire of some waterfront residents and motel owners for clear beaches and the need to protect coastal wetlands that provide habitat for spawning fish and other aquatic wildlife, officials say.

"The big things that people should be aware of is permits are going to be required for any mechanical activity on the shoreline" such as using a lawnmower or tractor, said Daniel Morgan, supervisor of the state agency's Land and Water Management Division in Bay City.

Morgan said the general permit allows for limited mowing of vegetation, including mowing a 10-foot-wide path to the water and a 400-square-foot recreation area.

The proposal came out of months of talks with environmental groups and Save Our Shoreline, a property rights association.

"It's a good first step," said Jennifer McKay, policy specialist for the Mitt Watershed Council in Petoskey.

But the group says the proposal does too little to protect coastal wetlands.

McKay said the general permit proposal lacks needed limits on the amount of sand that can be moved or the amount of fill that can be used to make a path.

"We've already lost two-thirds of the (historic) Great Lakes coastal wetlands, and the ones we have remaining are ecologically critical," McKay told The Bay City Times.

Property owners would be able to continue mowing and some other beach maintenance activities but would have to buy a $100 permit for five years.

Homeowners still would need U.S. Army Corps of Engineers approval for such activities as leveling the ground and building paths.


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

For Immediate Release 
August 15, 2007

Contact: Robert McCann (517) 241-7397

DEQ Approves New General Permit for Limited Great Lakes Shoreline Management Activities

The Department of Environmental Quality today announced the creation of a new General Permit category that allows property owners along the Great Lakes to request authorization to conduct approved shoreline management activities through a simplified permit process with a reduced application fee. This new permit was developed through the DEQs Shoreline Management Policy Workgroup that consisted of representatives from a number of different state and federal resource agencies and citizen groups such as Save Our Shoreline and the Michigan Environmental Council. 

The workgroup was charged with determining the best way to protect the ecological values of Great Lakes shorelands while recognizing the interests of the landowners. The resulting general permit authorizes leveling and grooming of sand in areas free of vegetation, construction and maintenance of a temporary access walkway in areas free of vegetation using on-site materials, limited mowing of vegetation for a pathway, certain recreation areas, and in previously mowed areas of Saginaw Bay and Grand Traverse Bay, and limited mowing for control of invasive or non-native species such as Phragmites with an invasive species control plan in accordance with recommendations provided by the DEQ.

The final general permit was approved on August 1, and shoreline property owners may begin applying for authorization under the permit immediately. More detailed descriptions of allowable activities, along with a simplified application form can be found by clicking on Great Lakes Shoreline Management at www.michigan.gov/deqwetlands. In addition, the public is invited to attend several information sessions to be held by the DEQ on the following dates: August 29, at Caseville High School in Caseville; August 30, at the Doubletree Inn in Bay City; and September 13, at the Northwestern Michigan University Main Campus in the Oleson Center in Traverse City. All information sessions will run from 2:00 p.m. until 7:00 p.m.

#####

Protecting Michigans Environment, Ensuring Michigans Future


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## Hamilton Reef (Jan 20, 2000)

Beach maintenance will need permit

http://www.mlive.com/news/chronicle/index.ssf?/base/news-6/1188571622203640.xml&coll=8

08/31/07 By Lindsay VanHulle CHRONICLE NEWS SERVICE

State environmental leaders are informing Lake Michigan property owners of new regulations, effective this fall, that will change the way they can maintain their beaches. 

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is requiring a general permit for mechanized sand leveling and beachcombing work, mowing vegetation and creating paths to the water -- activities that have not required a permit since 2003. 

But that will change Nov. 1 for property owners along the Great Lakes. Raking sand or picking up debris by hand, however, will not need approval.

Any property owner, including residences, businesses and municipal parks, will be affected by the new permit requirements, said Peg Bostwick, chief of the wetlands, lakes and streams unit within the DEQ's Land and Water Management Division. 

The general permits will be valid for five years from the date of issue and will cost as much as $100, depending on the type of work being done. 

The new regulations are a result of a study that showed these actions have negative impacts on the environment, Bostwick said. The department then chose to expand its oversight. 

The change would affect at least two of Ottawa County's 15 parks, including North Beach Park in Ferrysburg and the "Park 12" beach near Holland. 

Park employees install a fence on the two beaches during the winter to prevent sand from blowing into the parking lots and bring in a bulldozer to level out the sand in the spring, said Dave Mazurek, parks operations superintendent with the county's Parks and Recreation Commission. 

"I would anticipate that we would be able to get the permit," Mazurek said. "The work that we've been doing is very traditional, and it just restores the beach. It doesn't change it." 

Some of the state's most affected regions include the Saginaw Bay and Grand Traverse Bay areas, Bostwick said, in part because of shallower waters and amount of exposed beach.

"There's no one area that I've heard complaints about" in West Michigan, she said. 

That certainly has been the case for Susan Wittenbach. She and her husband, David, have a home on Lake Michigan in Grand Haven Township, and said she has not needed to do much work on her beach other than manually pick up trash. 

Wittenbach said maintaining the beaches needs to be a joint effort between property owners and the state.

"It's always hard to mandate more things," she said. "I don't think we need all the red tape and restrictions. We need to work together to make it a good experience for everyone to enjoy the natural resources we have without destroying them." 

To Mike Fogg, the effect on West Michigan is so small the new permit requirements do not seem justified. 

Fogg, of Park Township, has lived near the water his entire life and said he does not do any work on his beach. But he cannot say the same for his second home on northern Michigan's Beaver Island. There, the natural vegetation grows as high as 6 feet tall in some places. 

"I don't need the DEQ telling me how to cut my grass," he said, adding mowing vegetation -- something the agency wants to regulate -- won't kill it. "I'm in awe of their approach to this." 

Although the rules will not go into effect until November, property owners are able to apply now so they will be prepared, Bostwick said.


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