GRAND RAPIDS, MI — A push to dredge part of a 23-mile stretch of the Grand River between Eastmanville Township and Grand Rapids is drawing scrutiny in Ottawa County, with some residents and elected officials questioning the project’s environmental impact and maintenance costs.

The project is being led by Dan Hibma, a West Michigan developer and husband of former Michigan Secretary of State Terri Lynn Land. He wants to make the Grand River accessible to power boaters looking to travel from Grand Rapids to Lake Michigan, a move that supporters say will boost tourism and could eventually generate an estimated annual economic impact of up to $5.7 million.

But the idea is sparking pushback, with some township supervisors and county commissioners saying Hibma has not answered key questions about the project.

Among them: How would dredging the river impact the fish and wildlife habitat? Would it stir up potential contaminants lurking beneath the river bed?

And who would pay the annual maintenance costs, such as removing downed trees and having law enforcement patrol the area?

“There’s just so many big questions,” said Spring Lake Township Supervisor John Nash. Later, he added: “I think if you look at the facts, it’s not the best thing for the river. It seems like there’s more of an impetus on some special person or area gaining a lot of financial advantage.”

The project must receive a state dredging permit to move forward. Environmental testing, a prerequisite for the permit, is currently being conducted to see whether dredging the river would release hazardous substances.

Public comment

The Ottawa County Board of Commissioners is hosting a work session Tuesday to examine the project. The board will take public comment, and is expected to hear from the project’s supporters, county employees and environmental experts.

“Whether you’re a property owner along the Grand River, whether you are a taxpayer in Ottawa County, we want people to come and speak their mind,” said Greg DeJong, who chairs the board.

The board, at a later date, may issue a symbolic resolution, either supporting or opposing the project. Or it may stay neutral, DeJong said. Commissioners want to learn more about the dredging effort after receiving questions and concerns from constituents.

Hibma has been pushing for the project, known as the Grand River Waterway, for years. He has said that opening the river to powerboats would attract investment, visitors and other recreational activities to the area.

The idea is to dredge a portion of the river, thereby creating a 50-foot wide, 7-foot deep channel big enough to accommodate vessels 26-feet or larger. A boat trip from Grand Rapids to Lake Michigan would take about four hours, one study estimated.

To date, the project has received $3.35 million in state funding.

The most recent portion, totaling $2 million, was included in a supplemental state budget approved during the waning days of last year’s lame duck legislative session. Those dollars were provided to the Department of Natural Resources to pay for the dredging work, and “shall be spent only if sediment tests are satisfactory and necessary permits are issued,” the state budget says.

A 2017 state-contracted study estimated the project would also require about $165,000 to cover annual maintenance costs.

Hibma was traveling Friday and was not available for an interview. He referred questions to Grandville Mayor Steve Maas, who’s serving as an adviser for the project.

Maas said he understands the concerns over potential contaminants being unearthed during the dredging process. A state-contracted study, currently underway, will examine 87 soil samples gathered at 34 locations along the river for hazardous materials, he said. Another study is examining how the project would impact the river’s mussel population.

“If there’s environmental concerns, those need to be addressed,” he said. “Before the project moves forwards we’re going to need to get the results of these studies.”

There’s no plan at this time on how the project would proceed if hazardous materials are discovered during the testing, Maas said. He added, “We would just have to cross that bridge when we get to it.”

Supporters, opponents

The project has drawn high-profile supporters.

Grand Rapids Area Chamber of Commerce President and CEO Rick Baker has touted the project. So has Arlan Meekhof, a Republican from West Olive whose term as majority leader of the Michigan Senate ended last year.

He published a March 18 editorial in The Grand Haven Tribune, stating that opening the river to power boaters could lead to “new marinas, riverside restaurants, campgrounds and other new recreational opportunities.”

“This project seeks to enhance this underutilized asset so that even more Michiganders can enjoy the river,” he wrote. “There are many more steps to go, but I think this is a project that all of us in West Michigan can be excited about.”

John Scholtz, director of Parks and Recreation for Ottawa County, opposes the project. He worries about the possibility of environmental contamination, as well as how the project would impact the fish and wildlife habitat in and around the river.

“Is it necessary,” he asked. “There’s not a big outcry for people wanting to boat up there. There’s an individual who would like to see it happen, but we’re not seeing a big outcry from the public.”

A resolution opposing the project was unanimously approved this week by the Ottawa County Parks Commission, a 10-member body which includes county commissioners Matthew Fenske and Philip Kuyers, as well as county employees and other residents. Kuyers was absent, while another seat is currently vacant.

The resolution said the development would disturb “quiet water uses such as paddling, small watercraft, fishing, shoreline hiking, wildlife viewing, and other low-impact uses that are not compatible with the noise and wakes of large watercraft.”

Fenske said he supported the resolution from the vantage point of how the proposed dredging would impact the parks system. But he said he still hasn’t “come close to making up my mind” on the issue, and that he needs to examine how the project would impact other aspects of the county’s operations.

“As a county commissioner, I have to look at the whole picture,” he said.

Maintenance concerns

Another issue raising concern is the project’s annual maintenance costs. A 2017 study put the annual total at $165,000, a figure that includes dredging and buoy maintenance.

Maas said Grand River Waterway hasn’t determined who would pay that bill.

“As the mayor of Grandville, I think we would at least take a look at possibly participating in the cost of that, because I think it would be a benefit to our community,” he said. “Wyoming and Tallmadge Township and Allendale Township, Georgetown Township — I’m hopeful all would take a look at helping and participating in those costs.”

Nash, the Spring Lake supervisor, said he believes the cost of maintenance would be even higher than $165,000.

He said a law enforcement agency, such as the Ottawa County Sheriff’s Department, would need a presence on the river to enforce no-wake zones and other laws. He also questioned who would pay for other expenses, such as picking up trees that fall during a storm and block the river.

Like the other maintenance expenses, the cost of a law enforcement presence would likely fall on communities along the river, Maas said. “I would be hopeful they would be willing to pay their share of speed enforcement,” he said.

One Grandville City Council member takes issue with that approach.

“It’s fiscally irresponsible to proceed until you’ve identified how to pay for the estimated annual maintenance costs,” said Paul Troost, who was elected in 2017 and previously ran former U.S. Sen. Carl Levin’s Grand Rapids field office.

He added, “I’m against using millions for a special interest project that only benefits power boaters and land developers.”

In July, Hibma briefed the Grandville City Council on the dredging project, and a resolution in support of the project was placed before the council for approval. The council voted 6 to 1 to table the resolution, citing environmental, fiscal and safety concerns. It said supporting the project at that time would be premature.

Maas, the Grandville mayor who’s now serving as an adviser to Grand River Waterway, voted in favor of tabling the proposal.

“There was enough information for me to support it, but I wasn’t sure there was enough information for the other council members to make an informed decision," Maas said.

Questions have also been raised about whether private developers would benefit from the project.

In a 2010 story published by MLive.com, Hibma discussed the idea of dredging the river, and said his company, Land & Co., wanted to develop a seasonal campground on about 200 acres with a mile of riverfront property near the M-11 bridge in Walker.

When asked if Hibma still owns property along the river that he wants to develop if the river dredging occurs, Hibma’s spokesperson, Michael Zalewski, said: “Dan’s company does own property in Walker. The property is zoned industrial and there is no plan for a development based on the river restoration.”

Moving forward, Mass said he’s hopeful residents throughout West Michigan see the benefit of the project.

“We have this wonderful underutilized asset, which is the Grand River,” he said. “So anything that we can do to help connect our citizens back to the river and to restore the river to the way that it used to be is a good thing.”