RACER Trust asks VBT to pass ordinance to prohibit wells in area

The RACER Trust plans to remediate the old General Motors property on Ecorse Road, north of Willow Run Airport and wants Van Buren Township to prohibit wells in that area.
At the regular meeting of the VBT Environmental Commission on Dec. 21, Ron Akers, director of municipal services, reported that RACER Trust which was put in place by GM’s bankruptcy spinoff, has received EPA permission to remediate the old GM properties.
He said the property is the old City of Detroit landfill. They will put six inches of topsoil on top to flatten the property.
A well-prohibition ordinance, north to the former Harold Smith farm to the trailer park is being sought from the township.
Director Akers said there are no active wells in that area now.
He said the township will put together an ordinance for this area.
RACER will disconnect any residents from their wells and pay to connect them to city water, but there are none they know of, Akers said.
He said there is not major contamination, but the topsoil is recommended.
RACER Trust stands for Remediating Auto Communities Environmental Response Trust.
In other business at the Dec. 21 meeting, the commission:
• Voted unanimously to change the meeting start time from 7 to 6 p.m. beginning in 2023. The commission meetings are held the third Wednesday of each month;
• Learned that at the Jan. 18 meeting, there will be a presentation on microplastics from the person who recently presented a program on the issue at the Belleville Area Public Library. The program was not recorded and members of the commission had voiced interest in having the presenter speak to them;
• Akers reported that he reached out to the Airport Authority and it told Director Larry Luckett that deicing fluids go into the storm drain system, but it is treated before it is let into the storm drains. Commissioner Tony Gibson had asked about the current process at the previous meeting. Chairman Norm DeBuck asked if it’s in the southeast section of the airport and if it is an underground system. He asked if each air carrier had it’s own system or if it is in one major area. DeBuck said he would like a diagram and it would be nice to know exactly how it is handled. Akers said he would get more information;
• Heard Akers urge them to take the township’s residential solid waste survey which is on the township website or available on paper at township hall. He said as of that day, there have been 367 responses and the township’s goal is 380 which would make it representative. This survey is to get information on how the township will handle what will happen next summer when Waste Management (WM) will no long provide free pickup; and
• Also, discussed lily pads on Belleville Lake, Drain Commission maintenance, and signage at public areas around the lake, but the Independent was at another meeting and not present for those discussions and the meetings are not video recorded.