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Thank you to everyone who was involved in gathering the information necessary to create the new riparian and deeded access owner lists. They are now available under the Lake Margrethe tab (Owner Lists).
If there are any changes to be made, please contact Grayling Twp. officials.
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Hey Chuck,
Sorry for the delayed response, I was out of the office the end of last week and yesterday. This is the first chance I have had to look into your questions and get an email sent back out to you. Our prime contractor Rieth-Riley is currently undergoing a labor dispute. This has resulted in some of their labors/operators going on strike as of the evening of Tuesday, July 30th. These labors/operators are generally the ones on the paving crews, so companywide limited paving is happening on projects currently that they are the contractor on statewide. MDOT and Rieth-Riley are continuing to work with the sub-contractors on this project on various other contract items to keep the project moving along to keep the project on schedule. Some of the work that has been ongoing is grading the ditches and front slopes, restoration (topsoil, seed, fertilizer, mulch, mulch blanket, etc.), and signs replacements. The final project completion date is Oct. 4, 2019, and MDOT is hopeful that this labor dispute will be resolved to still meet this completion date. MDOT is neutral on this labor dispute as it really is between the contractor and their union labor workforce, we are hopeful that is will be resolved as soon as possible. As you are aware, the project is not complete and so it is difficult in this stage to see where the actual widenings are planned as some of them are not constructed yet. So, I can understand that it may be difficult for you to see where these widenings will take place or what the future pavement layout will look like when the project is finished. The following is a list of the locations you referenced and what is planned at each intersection you referred to in your email:
I hope this answers and addresses all of your questions/concerns. If you have any more questions please don’t hesitate to contact me. Thanks, -Brad Bradley G. Swanson, P.E. Construction Engineer MDOT – Gaylord TSC Office Phone: (989) 731-5090 Cell Phone: (989) 370-3792 SwansonB@michigan.gov From: Rothe, Randy (EGLE)
I wanted to share with you the current schedule for Affiliated Researchers, who will be utilizing and underwater infra-red camera to look for springs in Lake Margrethe. While the drone was handy for shallow areas, the underwater camera will be able to see at depth and assure we don’t miss sampling any of the springs. This work is scheduled for Monday July 22 through Wednesday July 24. Just wanted to share in case you get questions. Thanks for all your help. Randy Rothe D: 989-705-3416 C: 989-217-0083 To All Lake Margrethe Property Owners What you should know about the Special Assessment District proposal to preserve and protect Lake Margrethe:
Respectfully, Lake Margrethe Property Owners Association, Board of Directors From Jonathan Edgerly
Michigan Army National Guard Environmental Manager Dear Sandra- We received your email regarding updated PFAS information and the current concerns of LMPOA members. Thank you for sharing your impressions and those of the LMPOA. We have passed your thoughts onto Randy Rothe (at Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), formerly DEQ), also to make sure the communication channels are full open. Please be assured that the Michigan Army National Guard (MIARNG), DMVA, EGLE, DHHS, and the Local Health Department continue to be in close communication. Regular conference calls occur with representatives from all of the State partners and MIARNG which exclusively discuss the PFAS investigation status in Grayling. MIARNG is in almost daily 2-way communications with Randy Rothe (EGLE) specifically to discuss various aspects of the on-going investigation on and around CGMTC, and to plan future Community Events to share status updates. Randy/EGLE has never been denied when they have requested access to the CGMTC property. Please feel free to reach out to Randy for his feedback on that topic. It is true, that the State of Michigan is currently studying the possibility of establishing new/additional standards related to PFAS. MIARNG does not have any new information other than that in regards to promulgating a new standard, there may be information on the MPART website to expand upon this initiative. MIARNG is in the process of forming a Restoration Advisory Board (RAB) to solicit for public involvement in the PFAS efforts at CGMTC. You should have recently received an email with a copy of the Public Notice and additional RAB-related information. If you did not get that email, please let me know and I will be resend to you. Please feel free to forward that email to other members of the LMPOA. The RAB Public Notice is also being posted on community bulletin boards in and around Grayling. Upcoming Community outreach events that are currently planned for this summer include (some dates have not been finalized): • RAB Informational Meeting (to solicit RAB members) -June 5th • First Meeting of the RAB group (these are open to the public) - late June • A meeting to discuss long-term options for addressing residential well contamination near the airfield - mid to late July • Town Hall Meeting to give status updates, and discuss Final TCRA plan following 30-day comment period- mid August Recent investigation on CGMTC conducted by MIARNG include: • Quarterly sampling of all the on-post potable water wells • Site Inspection field work (soil and groundwater sampling) was completed in April in the Cantonment Area Randy/EGLE has been/will be doing additional investigations in and around Lake Margrethe this spring. He would be the best one to update you on those activities. It is our goal to have fully open communications with our State Government partners, the LMPOA members, and members of the general public. We continue to work hand in hand with EGLE to further understand the scope of the PFAS contamination in the Grayling area with human health in the forefront of our efforts. We appreciate you reaching out with your concerns and those of the LMPOA, it is important for MIARNG and EGLE to be aware of people’s perceptions, so that we can address misunderstanding when they occur. As always, never hesitate to contact me via phone or email as I am more the willing to provide an update to whomever/wherever/however on the latest happenings as it relates to this ongoing effort. Respectfully, Jonathan W. Edgerly Michigan Army National Guard Environmental Manager 3423 N MLK Jr BLVD Lansing, Mi 48906 517-481-7630 / 517-599-5644 (c) Jonathan.w.edgerly.nfg@mail.mil FROM Randall L. Rothe District Supervisor, Gaylord District Office Remediation and Redevelopment Division, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy Good morning Sandy, Carla Lang forwarded me your email to her and Jonathan Edgerly. I am sorry that some of your members/board feel that communication has broken down. We try and keep the MPART website up to date with any data, findings, etc. so folks can look up the latest as they desire. I don’t recall any recent conversations between myself or my staff with any of the LMPOA Board Members. I have had some discussions with a couple of people who live on or around Lake Margrethe as far as updates, and I send them to the MPART website (www.michigan.gov/pfasresponse). Please be aware that it takes time for us (EGLE, DMVA, etc.) to get the data back from the lab, as well as updating maps and providing validated and accurate data/information. BTW – DEQ is now called EGLE; Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (pronounced eagle). We (EGLE) have never been denied access to Camp Grayling or any other areas they control. DMVA and Camp Grayling have been great to work with and continue to share info with us as we do with them. I recall a year or so back, there was that same issue brought up about denying us access. If my memory serves, that was a statement by someone living on the lake and misinterpreted what I said. EGLE will do the off-base work while DMVA and Army National Guard Bureau (ANGB) do the on-base investigation. Work being completed/initiated this summer: DMVA/ANGB is setting up the RAB (Restoration Advisory Board) for Grayling. You may recall this was mentioned at the December Town Hall and a signup sheet was available by ANGB. Public Meeting to explain RAB and process is on June 5 at Kirtland (DMVA Patti Lyman is setting this up. See attached) Also, ANGB completed sampling in cantonment area at Lake Margrethe and is waiting on data/reporting. Sampling was done last part of April/first part of May. EGLE staff in June, is going to resample the seeps/springs and surface water on Lake M that we sampled last year. In addition, we will be collecting sediment samples in those same locations. EGLE staff in July, will be sampling surface water and springs/seeps on the AuSable south of the airfield and downstream; exact locations yet to be determined. We may take sediment samples from those areas as well. EGLE working on a contract to use an underwater IR camera this summer on Lake M to find any deep springs. This will aid in sampling springs feeding the lake. I say all this to let you know that we, EGLE, DMVA, ANGB, DHHS, DHD-10, MPART is planning on a Town Hall in August 2019, preferably before schools start, so that hopefully more people will attend including those who live downstate/out-ot-state. The reasons for holding this later this summer are: NGB/DMVA would like to establish the RAB and have an initial meeting so that info along with meeting schedules can be shared in August. NGB/DMVA are working on reports for work conducted at the Airfield, MATES, and Main Camp Grayling. AECOM is developing the RI report for the Airfield area and finalizing the Lake M report. EGLE will have more info, reports, updates to share – including some of the data from the sampling events mentioned above. MPART will have the recommendations from the Advisory Board by then on what they suggest as the Maximum Contaminate Levels (MCLs) for PFAS in drinking water and we hopefully get Steve Sliver to attend to provide updates. That’s the latest/plans for now. Please be aware that any time you want EGLE staff to attend any of your meetings, we would be happy to do so, just give us enough time so we can plan and schedule. I hope this helps Sandy. Please forward as you desire. I was not able to send to all the people on your original email as some of the email addresses did not show up on the forwarded email. Thanks for all your help and please do not hesitate to contact any of us with any questions or if you need any further info. Best regards to all Randy Randall L. Rothe District Supervisor, Gaylord District Office Remediation and Redevelopment Division, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy 2100 West M-32, Gaylord, MI 49735 989-217-0083 (Cell) 989-731-4920 (Office) 989-731-6181 (FAX) rother@michigan.gov FOLLOW US www.michigan.gov/EGLE www.Michigan.gov/EGLEConnect We continue to discuss our options for treating milfoil with the township. Come to the next LMPOA meeting at the township hall, May 18th, 9 a.m. to hear all updates.
To: Lake Margrethe Property Owners & Friends of the Lake The Lake Margrethe Property Owners Association’s board of directors have voted unanimously to work cooperatively with the Grayling Charter Township to establish a Lake Margrethe Improvement Board because without this board, Eurasian milfoil could not be treated chemically. This board will be empowered to act in support of the environmental stability of Lake Margrethe, will become responsible for the treatment of Eurasian milfoil and will effectively confront other environmental problems encountered in Lake Margrethe. This lake board provides a mechanism for collaborative lake management which includes Grayling Charter Township, Crawford County, the county road commission, and a representative from our riparian property owners. Questions and comments will be addressed at our LMPOA membership meeting on Saturday, May 18, 2019 and at the Grayling Township Informational meeting also in May of 2019. For now we would like to answer some of our members and friends basic questions in the Q&A shown below. Additionally the attached document from the North American Lake Management Society provides important information. Specifically, we would draw your attention to pages 30-56 on the subject of lake boards in Michigan. Sincerely, Chuck Spencer President LMPOA Q 1. Do other communities have lake improvement boards? A. There are many lake improvement boards fully operational in Michigan. Most have the same issues we are experiencing and from whom we can learn best practices. Q 2. What affect will the lake board have on our lake association? A. We expect the LMPOA to continue to support the interests of lake-area property owners and to partner with Camp Grayling in efforts to assure our beautiful lake remains a.recreational jewel. This includes investigating new methods of milfoil control that do not require chemicals. Q 3. How have environmental and invasive species issues like milfoil been re-mediated in the past? A. Through the generous financial support of property owners and the Camp Grayling National Guard the association has tracked the development of invasive milfoil and employed licensed professional lake management suppliers to chemically treat an average of 20 acres of lake bottom most years. We are satisfied with our remediation efforts. However, the state has issued new regulations that prevent local property associations, like ours, from managing this type chemical treatment to public waterways or lakes. Q 4. Will the lake board have the authority to establish a special tax district to help fund needed lake improvements and invasive species controls? A. The simple answer to this question is yes. However, you will note from the attachment that spending approval for lake projects or treatments are subjected to a number of statutory requirements. We hope most property owners will agree with the rigor of this process. Q 5. If we have additional question prior to the public meetings where can we go for more information? A. We suggest you check our web site or the LMPOA Facebook page for information as it becomes available to us. You also might Google "Michigan Lake Improvement Boards" see what other lake boards are doing. 
The Army National Guard outlined its continued commitment to the health of the Grayling community. Accordingly the ARNG is following the procedures required under CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. That being; Preliminary Assessment, Site Inspection, Remedial Investigation, Feasibility Study, Proposed Plan, Decision Document, Remedial Design, and Remedial Action. The ARNG is currently soliciting interested persons to sit on a “Restoration Advisory Board” which will be formed this upcoming summer. Anyone interested in being a part of this board is asked to contact Captain Pam Hess at 703-601-6818 or Bonnie Packer at 703-607-7977. To date, 447 residential wells around Lake Margrethe have been tested with 384 non-detects, 61 below 70 ppt (FFOA plus PFOS) and 2 above 70 ppt. Late last summer, the DEQ had 14 monitoring wells drilled off Borchers Way in the Southeast corner of the Lake. To date 14 samples from those wells have been analyzed. Of the 14 samples, 4 were non-detect, 7 were below the 70 ppt criteria, and 3 were above 70 ppt. The DEQ is following up with more analysis and sampling of these monitoring wells and additional information will be provided at the next community meeting, sometime in the spring of 2019. Lake Margrethe surface water and foam were tested by the MDEQ in 2018. There were 15 surface water samples analyzed with 0 non-detect, 11 below 12 ppt, and 4 above 12 ppt. The Army National Guard outlined its continued commitment to the health of the Grayling community. Accordingly the ARNG is following the procedures required under CERCLA (Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act. That being; Preliminary Assessment, Site Inspection, Remedial Investigation, Feasibility Study, Proposed Plan, Decision Document, Remedial Design, and Remedial Action. The ARNG is currently soliciting interested persons to sit on a “Restoration Advisory Board” which will be formed this upcoming summer. Anyone interested in being a part of this board is asked to contact Captain Pam Hess at 703-601-6818 or Bonnie Packer at 703-607-7977. To date, 447 residential wells around Lake Margrethe have been tested with 384 non-detects, 61 below 70 ppt (FFOA plus PFOS) and 2 above 70 ppt. Late last summer, the DEQ had 14 monitoring wells drilled off Borchers Way in the Southeast corner of the Lake. To date 14 samples from those wells have been analyzed. Of the 14 samples, 4 were non-detect, 7 were below the 70 ppt criteria, and 3 were above 70 ppt. The DEQ is following up with more analysis and sampling of these monitoring wells and additional information will be provided at the next community meeting, sometime in the spring of 2019. Lake Margrethe surface water and foam were tested by the MDEQ in 2018. There were 15 surface water samples analyzed with 0 non-detect , 11 below 12 ppt, and 4 above 12 ppt. (PFOS greater than 12 ppt is MDEQ criteria). They also analyzed 15 foam samples, with 0 non-detect. All 15 foam samples had varying levels of PFOS however the MDEQ has not yet developed a detection criteria level for foam. With regards to the Grayling Airfield, 677 samples have been tested, 445 were non-detect, 215 were below 70 ppt and 7 were above 70 ppt. More information can be obtained by contacting Randy Rothe, District Supervisor for the MDEQ at 989-705-3416. They also analyzed 15 foam samples, with 0 non-detect. All 15 foam samples had varying levels of PFOS however the MDEQ has not yet developed a detection criteria level for foam. With regards to the Grayling Airfield, 677 samples have been tested, 445 were non-detect, 215 were below 70 ppt and 7 were above 70 ppt. More information can be obtained by contacting Randy Rothe, District Supervisor for the MDEQ at 989-705-3416. Thanks to John Alef for submitting this report!!!! This is an email that was just sent out to members who have given us their email addresses: Our property owners' association (LMPOA) has over 50 years of experience representing the interests of property owners and friends of Lake Margrethe. It has helped maintain water quality, managed the Portage Creek dam and its impact on water levels, promoted safe boating, liaised with the military and governmental offices regarding the lake and its environs, and in the last few years, mounted a major effort to counteract the effects of invasive species (mainly Eurasian Water Milfoil) with the annual approval of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Has Something Changed? Yes. The DEQ now requires all waterfront property owners to provide written approval for any group, association, or individual to add chemicals, of any kind, to lakes and streams in Michigan. This new rule may be long overdue given our recent experience with fire retardants and the like. However, your property owners' association is faced with the mostly impossible task of securing the written approval of more than 300 lakefront owners as well as those with deeded access to the lake each time it is necessary to treat a new patch of milfoil. Then too, there are other projects undertaken by the association involving the upkeep of the dam and water levels, so important to all of us. What Options Do We Have?
What Should I Do?
Below is a document provided to LMPOA by PLM (the lake management company we have worked with for years). It outlines the steps that we are following. All questions/ concerns will be addressed during the process. |
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