June 26, 2020
Tarek Buckmaster
EGLE Water Resource Division
Industrial and Storm Water Permit Group
PO BOX 30458
Lansing, MI 48909-7958
Tiffany Myers
EGLE Jackson District Office
301 E. Louis Glick Highway
Jackson, MI 49201-1556
[Click Here for a PDF version of this letter]
Re: PFAS Removal from Impacted Stormwater Pond
Advanced Disposal - Arbor Hills Landfill
10690 West Six Mile Road, Northville, MI 48197
Mr. Buckmaster and Ms. Myers,
On June 24, 2020, The Conservancy Initiative became aware of a proposal[1] by Advanced Disposal Services (ADS) to treat and discharge an undeclared volume of PFAS impacted stormwater into Johnson Creek utilizing the existing NPDES permit (Permit No. MI0045713) for the Arbor Hills Remediation Site. The Advanced Disposal Services proposal was submitted to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) on June 2, 2020, less than one week after The Conservancy Initiative raised concerns regarding ADS’ NPDES permit application for the discharge of treated leachate to Johnson Creek.[2]
The Conservancy Initiative is writing to voice our strong disapproval of ADS’ proposal. Permit No. MI0045713 authorizes the discharge of treated groundwater from the Arbor Hills Remediation Site (located East of Napier Road in Wayne County) from December 1 through April 30. Discharge is prohibited May 1 through November 30 unless the discharge was unavoidable to prevent loss of life, personal injury, or severe property damage, and there was no feasible alternative to the discharge. Clearly, the impacted stormwater from the landfill site (located West of Napier Road in Washtenaw County) is not covered by this permit.
The Conservancy Initiative understands that treatment technologies exist which are capable of removing the PFAS contamination, but insists that any consideration for on-site treatment and discharge to surface waters must proceed through a rigorous permit approval process. The residents of Northville Township are blessed to have Johnson Creek meander through our township. We intend to protect this treasured asset and will fight to ensure that no short cuts are taken to improve the bottom line of a Corporation, let alone the landfill, that has taken advantage of the Township for the past decade.
The impacted stormwater originated from a fire at the landfill site in November 2016[3]. It is hard to believe this impacted water has been held in an open stormwater pond for almost 4 years and it should be of no surprise that nearby groundwater wells are now also impacted with PFAS chemicals.[4] The Conservancy Initiative requests to be notified of the planned disposition of this impacted stormwater and will be submitting a Freedom of Information Act Request to better understand its history. We reserve the right to submit detailed comments on any future permits being considered for Advanced Disposal Services, or its successors, and request to be notified prior to any permit actions being considered.
We are confident an antidegradation analysis,[5] required during the permit review process of a new discharge source, will determine the proper disposition for the PFAS impacted stormwater is at a properly licensed off-site disposal facility. Although this may be more costly for ADS, there are no social or economic development and benefits that will be foregone in the area if a permit is denied.
I look forward to hearing from you or your staff in the near future.
Regards,
/s/
Dave Drinan
Director, The Conservancy Initiative
cc: (all via email) D. Nessel (AG), N. Gordon (MDAG), T. Siedel (EGLE), P. Argiroff (EGLE), C. Alexander (EGLE), S. Sliver (EGLE), J. Russell (EGLE), M. Steffler (EGLE), C. Dijak (EGLE), R. Burns (EGLE), J. Schinderle (EGLE), E. Browne (EGLE), L. Lee (EGLE), L. Bean (EGLE), Mary Ann Dolehanty (EGLE), J. Olaguer (EGLE), C. Ethridge (EGLE), S. Miller (EGLE), R. Nix (Northville Twp), F. Shadko (Northville Twp), M. Banner (Northville Twp), S. Frush (Northville Twp), S. Heath (Northville Twp), M. Herrmann (Northville Twp), C. Roosen (Northville Twp), M. Koleszar (State Representative), D. Polehanki (State Senator), S. Shinks (Washtenaw Co. Commissioner), E. Pratt (Washtenaw Co. Water Resource Commissioner), T. Eggermont (Washtenaw Co), B. Turnbull (Northville City), K. Heise (Plymouth Twp), M. Gallegher (NPS), C. Jankowski (NPS), P. Cullen (Wayne Co.), M. McCormick (Friends of the Rouge)
[1] PFAS Removal from Impacted Stormwater Pond, Advanced Disposal - Arbor Hills Landfill, June 2, 2020
[2] Advanced Disposal Requests Permission to Dump Leachate to Johnson Creek, The Conservancy Initiative, May 27, 2020
[3] Fire at Recycling Center, Joanne Maliszewski, hometownlife.com, November 20, 2016
[4] Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, Michigan PFAS Action Response Team, Washtenaw County, Salem Township, Arbor Hills Landfill, Inc.
[5] Antidegradation/Antibacksliding, EGLE Water Bureau Permits Section Procedure No. 14