VBT Environmental Commission discusses changes at US Ecology

Two changes being sought from the Department of Environmental Quality by US Ecology were explained to the Van Buren Township Environmental Commission during its meeting on Oct. 18.
Two public notices on the requests were published in the Oct. 12 issue of the Independent concerning US Ecology.
Matthew Best, deputy director of VBT Planning and Economic Development, explained that one is a site-specific variance petition. They are cleaning up a site in Kalamazoo and the boots, gloves, bottles, tie-backs and some soils, not heavy-duty contaminants, are involved. He said it was what workers had on when they cleaned the site and the soil over where they changed out of the gear.
Best said they are only allowed so much dioxin, period, and each dioxin has a waste code. US Ecology has a list of waste codes it can take, including PCP, dioxins, and purins. They want to use a treatment process with a waste code that is not currently in their permit.
He said what is being cleaned up is a former wood treatment solutions plant that operated in the early 1900s. The wood treating solutions got into the ground water and Strebor, current owner, got in trouble. They are cleaning it up and need places to put it.
He said besides the other items, they will be bringing structural pieces of tile from the site. They want to truck it here instead of to Montana, Nevada, or Idaho, Best said.
The other request by US Ecology is an “operating license major modification.” Best said like the changes requested only for Strebor, they want to do it for the landfill. There are new processes created and they have to have them in their license. They want to add waste codes to the facility.
Best said there is a 2 p.m., Oct. 30 meeting at Wayne County Community College Western Campus if people don’t want to send a letter and wish to comment on this request.
“No different material will be coming, but it will be from different sites,” Best said, adding other than the codes, there are no other changes.
In other business at the one-hour-and 21-minute meeting on Oct. 18, the commission:
• Unanimously reelected David Brownlee as commission chairman and Norm DeBuck as vice-chair for the next year;
• Heard Best report that more than 250 cars came to US Ecology for the recent household hazardous waste dropoff program at the landfill. He said there was some confusion because some people went to the main entrance instead of the east entrance because the facility failed to put up directional signs;
• Discussed algae blooms on Belleville Lake on Oct. 1 and on Lake Erie, where about a third of Lake Erie was covered, as seen by satellite. Commissioner Jeff Jahr said he took a picture of the algae on Belleville Lake next to his home and it looked as green as the Chicago River on St. Patrick’s Day. Chairman Brownlee said the group studying algae on Belleville Lake has finished its grant-funded work and he will see if he can get a report to share;
• Discussed coal tar asphalt paving and enforcement of the township’s anti-coal-tar ordinance. Brownlee complained that the informational pamphlets have yet to be distributed to the township residents. Best said there has been a disconnect with the Huron River Watershed Council where he was planning to get the pamphlets free. He said Grosse Ile took a copy of VBT’s ordinance in order to base its new ordinance on it and then called back to ask about enforcement. Brownlee asked if the cable department couldn’t put a program on concerning coal tar and Best said that department had been busy with doing a VBT advertisement, but might be able to in January;
• Heard a report from Best on a well-attended Septic System Maintenance Workshop at the township hall on Sept. 14 and the planting of 30 trees by the water tower in a workshop to show how to plant trees properly. He said in 10-12 years they will have a really nice tree line of London Plane, Tulip, and Ginkgo trees;
• Was informed that Town Place Suites by Marriott has pulled a demolition permit for the big red barn on Quirk Road that used to be a boot shop. “They are getting ready to go,” Best said of construction on the new hotel at the corner of Quirk and the North I-94 Service Drive; and
• Heard Best say the American Center for Mobility, now under construction at Willow Run, is expected to be open for tests in December. Best said the automatic cars are great, but he is more intrigued with the individual transport robots. They are working on ways to have personal robots deliver goods and services by taking personal orders for purchases and then traveling down the sidewalks to a store and back. And then there are the “awesome drones,” he said.