VBT Environmental Commission meets for first time in 11 months

Norm DeBuck was reelected as chairman and Benjamin Ross as vice chairman at the Aug. 17 meeting of the Van Buren Township Environmental Commission. This was the first meeting of the commission since Sept. 15, 2021.
DeBuck informed the commission, which had full attendance that he usually is gone for the winter and travels in an RV to conventions throughout the country so he won’t be able to have the best attendance record.
He said there were a lot of things overlooked, he said of the commission’s lack of monthly meetings.
The commission decided to have a vice chairman and elected Ross.
Board members didn’t know Director of Public Service Larry Luckett, so he introduced himself, saying he holds the position on the commission of staff liaison held by Matt Best at their last meeting.
Director Luckett said he has lived in the township for 12 years, has been married for 33 years and his wife works for Fish & Wildlife, so they have an environmental family. He retired from the City of Detroit where he worked to help get it through bankruptcy.
Others went around the table introducing themselves, as well.
Trustee Donald Boynton said he has lived in the township for 17 years and been involved in township politics for 15 years. He is liaison to the township board.
Director of Planning and Economic Development Dan Power introduced himself briefly.
Chairman DeBuck said he is a sod farmer and longtime member of the commission.
Commissioner Ronald Merritt said he has lived in Country Pond subdivision for 17 ½ years and retired from Ford and then renegotiated his job and went back. He said the late Dave Wilson’s work on the commission influenced him to join the Huron River Watershed Council and get involved with the commission.
Commissioner Peter Creal said he was involved with the State of Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) meeting at the Belleville Yacht Club (BYC) concerning the phosphorus in Belleville Lake from the Huron River and then joined the commission. He has been in VBT for 15 years.
Vice Chairman Ross said he is a retired special education teacher and he and his wife have lived in VBT for ten years.
Commissioner Anthony Gibson is retired from General Motors and has lived in the township since 1970. He said he has been on the commission longer than he can determine.
In other business at the one-hour-and-12-minute meeting, the commission:
• Noted there is one vacancy on the commission that needs to be filled. Members asked each other to find friends or neighbors interested in the environment and ask them to go to township hall to apply for an appointment, which is made by the township supervisor with the support of the township board;
• Heard Director Power give an update on Wayne Disposal toxic landfill. Power presented an email he had requested from Alex Hurley of US Ecology with updates. Hurley said they are working on the modifications to the liner, as discussed by the commission a year ago, and US Ecology, which owned Wayne Disposal, presented a request to EGLE last November to increase the height of a portion of the existing landfill footprint. That request was presented with its WDI license-renewal application to EGLE and EGLE is reviewing it all. Director Luckett said he plans to take a tour of the landfill to see what it’s all about, but there have been no complaints lately. The commission had toured the landfill a year ago. Power said, “This landfill flies under the radar”;
• Learned Republic Services became the parent company of US Ecology, including Wayne Disposal as of May 2;
• Heard Commissioner Gibson ask about landfill cells near the asphalt plant had dumpsters sealed with tarp on their property in April-May. Power said he will ask them about it;
• Discussed the situation at Woodland Meadows landfill, owned by Waste Management, where there is EGLE-approved expansion taking place, but the Wayne County Conservation District has taken legal action because of a rare wetland on the northwest corner of the site that it wants to preserve. Power said there was a six-month pause, but that has expired and there has been no update. Trustee Boynton was asked about the township board approving legal action in partnership with Waste Management on the matter. Boynton said he will be having a meeting on this soon and he will let the Environmental Commission know about it as soon as he can, possibly at the November meeting. Power said he was told it would be the beginning of the year. Boynton said progressions have been made by Waste Management and another company with Waste Management on the wetlands issue;
• Discussed the loss of free trash and recycling pickup in the township in 2025, which was part of a township deal with Waste Management. Gibson said township residents have been spoiled by the curbside pickup of recycling and it will be an issue down the road. Luckett said there should be discussions on how this will be handled. He said there will be a cost associated with it and the township has to try to get the best possible deal because it will be a culture shock. He said VBT Supervisor Kevin McNamara is working on this;
• Discussed the French Landing Park upgrades for Phase II which have just been contracted to Davenport Brothers for repaving, landscaping, and docks. The boardwalk will be in Phase III;
• Heard Power explain that the BYC dock expansion is still an open issue. He said the BYC removed some of the piers that were beyond the setback for the neighbors. He said an application is in process for design of the docks with a possible change to the zoning ordinance on the size. Power said the township has a 40’ limit on the length of docks for nonresidential. “Docks are still an open issue,” Power said;
• Learned the Iron Belle Trail is progressing, the Lakewood Shopping Center has no plans for that site yet, there is nothing planned to stop the milfoil growth on the west side of Belleville Lake, and VBT has no plans for a lawsuit on the Wixom plant that polluted the Huron River upstream;
• Heard Chairman DeBuck say there was an offer to buy or lease his family’s sod farm to put in a solar farm. He said he was concerned about the contents of solar panels and didn’t want to pollute the land for his neighbors. He said the offer wasn’t enough money, anyway. Power said the VBT zoning only allows utility grade solar farms in airport and industrial zoning, not places owned by residents;
• Heard the Independent report that John Enos, principal of Giffels Webster planning consultants, had told the Sumpter Township Planning Commission at a recent meeting that investors wishing to set up large solar farms target valuable farmland that is already cleared, thus removing farms from production. He said when they pull out, they leave cement and metal rods in the property making the site good for nothing but sheep, not even goats. He suggested the township revisit its ordinance on the subject, the Independent reported; and
• Heard Barbara Miller introduce herself as representing the League of Women Voters to sit in on the meeting and then report to the group on its activities. She complimented DeBuck in how he operated the meeting.