community forum

In October 2019 ALPA joined the Oakland Drive-Winchell Neighborhood Association (ODWNA), the Oakwood Neighborhood Association (ONA), The Stewards of Kleinstuck and the Woods Lake Association (WLA) in sponsoring a Community Forum attended by around 75 people at Maple St. Middle School.  The topic was “Protecting Our Lakes and Streams During Construction : What Happened and Where do We Go from Here” which addressed the June spill of sediment from the BTR2 construction site into Asylum Lake and how this can be prevented in the future.

 Presenters included: 

  • Sara Pearson, Sr. Geologist and Informational Management Unit Supervisor Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy - Remediation and Redevelopment Division; 

  • Daniel P. Bock, Assistant Attorney General, Natural  Resources and Agricultural Division, MI Dept. of Atty Genl.; 

  • Janelle Holm, Senior Environmental Quality Analyst Michigan Dept. of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) - Water Resources Division

  • Pat Crowley,  Kalamazoo County Drain Commissioner

  • Bob McNutt, Building/Development Manager, City of Kalamazoo

  • Mark Cavanaugh, Regional Sales  Re. Hanes Geo Components, Board member West Michigan Soil Erosion Control Network.

The presenters gave an overview of the regulatory and legal protections that are in place and how the system in general works and sometimes fails. They were not at liberty to discuss specifics of the WMU spill due to ongoing investigations. An important piece of key information was that the entire regulatory system, due to insufficient staffing, mostly trusts the owners and developers to monitor their own situations, and often when someone is found to be in violation, only remediation is expected; few fines or penalties are given unless multiple violations have occurred. The public is encouraged to monitor and report any possible problems to authorities as soon as possible to the Michigan Pollution Emergency Alerting System (PEAS) 1-800-292-4706.

Future possible forums may address stormwater runoff, road salt and alternatives and biodiversity in urban environments.

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