TCE Plume-ACUTE

Antrim County United Through Ecology (ACUTE)

We are a stakeholder in the ACUTE collaborative that seeks consensus in resolving the toxic plume of trichloroethylene contamination extending from Mancelona, MI towards the Schuss Mountain Ski Resort. This is the current stakeholder list: TCE Plume ACUTE Who’s Who Roster.

TCE Plume Update

On December 7, 2017 at Shanty Creek, many residents and community stake holders attended a meeting hosted by the DEQ and the Michigan Health Department relative to the TCE Plume. Here is documentation provided at the meeting: TCE Plume Documentation 12-7-17

TCE Plume: Antrim County’s support for corrective actions

On May 14, 2015, Antrim County Commissioners authorized $250,000 in matching funds toward substantial funding from Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) to install a package of improvements in the Mancelona Water & Sewer Authority’s public water system.  The purpose of these improvements was to address the short-term, TCE plume-related needs to assure property owners in the affected area will continue to have access to clean drinking water for the foreseeable future.  The improvements are needed to keep a major source in this public water system from becoming contaminated with trichloroethylene (TCE) in the groundwater.  A public meeting was held on June 26, 2015, where public officials explained the details of these improvements and answered the questions raised by property owners and community stakeholders.  This meeting was videotaped.  Highlights from that meeting, along with a few other useful pieces of information, were converted into a 9-minute video that represent the key messages from that meeting:

Here is the Agenda for an ACUTE communications meeting regarding the TCE plume in the Mancelona-Bellaire area (aka Wickes Manufacturing TCE Plume Site): ACUTE Agenda, Friday, June 26, 2015. This is an open meeting. The public and community stakeholders are welcome

March 12, 2015 Antrim County Board of Commissioners Meeting
As a follow up to the February 12th meeting, the Commissioners are scheduled to review a draft contract at 1:45 PM, Thursday, March 12th to ratify their arrangement with MAWSA. Part of the Commissioner’s action on February 12th was for Antrim County Prosecuting Attorney to work with MAWSA’s Special Counsel to develop the language of a mutually agreeable draft contract for review by the County Commissioners. A draft copy of the minutes of the Commissioner’s February 12th meeting is available online, if you would like to read the essence of the 22 public comments made on February 12th, all of which were in support of this transaction.

February 12, 2015 Antrim County Board of Commissioners Meeting
At their meeting on February 12, 2015, the Antrim County Board of Commissioners considered a request for $250,000 in support of construction projects designed to mitigate the threat to local water wells posed by the advancing underground TCE plume. The County Commissioners voted 7 to 2 for a Resolution to develop a contract between Antrim County and MAWSA to appropriate $250,000 in matching funds to secure about a million dollars from DEQ to install phase one of the TCE plume-related improvements in the Mancelona Area Water system. Additional information and a thank you is contained in this document: TCE Plume Thank You

The following information has been collected and is posted to provide background and current information on the activities related to ACUTE and proposed options for dealing with this issue.

  1. TCE Plume Packet, Village of Bellaire Trustees – Feb 4, 2015 meeting:
    • FACTS about the size of the plume, acronyms, and number of households in affected area.
    • FAQs about Antrim County’s response to MAWSA’s request for $250K in financial assistance
    • DEQ’s Letter to MAWSA (July 3, 2014) offering $750K if Antrim community provides $250K
    • MAWSA’s Letter to Antrim County requesting the $250K
    • Cross-sectional maps of the TCE plume showing the depth of the plume
  2. Antrim County’s letter of support to State Representatives for $300K, prelim engineering of options
  3. DEQ’s Bob Wagner’s matching funds letter (July 3, 2014) to AC: $750K if $250K from local community
  4. Antrim County’s letter to MAWSA requesting legal basis for financial assistance (Aug 12, 2014)
  5. Roger Swets’ letter to Antrim County that provides the legal basis for financial assistance (Oct 1, 2014)
  6. Antrim County’s letter requesting additional legal opinion from Attorney General’s office (Oct 13, 2014)
  7. Attorney General’s office response to Antrim County’s request for legal opinion (Dec 31, 2014)
  8. Sign-On letter of support from area environmental organizations to Antrim County (Aug 1, 2014)
  9. Additional letter of support from Grand Traverse Watershed Center to Antrim County (July 30, 2014)
  10. 2013 Leading Edge of the TCE plume: Map

Meeting Agendas and Minutes: