Michigan's top water official: Detroit River spill poses no threat to public

Liesl Eichler Clark | Detroit Free Press

Show Caption Hide Caption Aerial video of collapsed uranium-contaminated dock in Detroit An aerial video of the Detroit property contaminated with uranium and other dangerous chemicals partially collapsed into the Detroit River.

When I was hired by Gov. Gretchen Whitmer to lead Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, I knew that many Michigan residents had lost trust in the agency and the effectiveness of government. We’re committed to rebuilding that trust. That is why we have been and will continue to be open and transparent with the public as we investigate the recent Detroit Bulk Storage aggregate spill into the Detroit River.

EGLE works with community members, numerous government agencies and stakeholders to ensure that the Detroit River's water quality continues to improve. The river today looks dramatically different than it did decades ago when it was heavily polluted.

Many years of painstaking, hard work has turned this vital waterway into an important resource, relied on by millions for clean drinking water. It is also increasingly being used for fishing, boating and recreation. We are committed to ensuring that our progress continues.

Looking out for the health and welfare of 4.5 million Metro Detroit residents – and 10 million statewide – is a thread that binds together everything we do. I’m proud of how our professional staff recently embodied that mission while investigating the potential for impacts that could have been caused by the aggregate collapse.

As we all know, the Detroit River is the drinking water source for Metro Detroiters Just before Thanksgiving, a 100-foot-tall pile of limestone aggregate — on the site of what was once a uranium processing facility — spilled into the river, taking part of the shoreline with it.

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In the wake of the incident, staff from a number of EGLE divisions were deployed to assess the impact. We used our resources in the air, on the water, and on land.

As part of our initial investigation, we took radiological measurements of the soil at the site, and results from 1,000 data points showed readings below naturally occurring background levels. That matched results from river sediment tests we took in the spring adjacent to the Detroit Bulk Storage site that found radiation at or below background levels.

Knowing that conventional industrial pollutants were in the river’s sediments and potentially on the site, we also took water samples upstream, in front of the collapsed shoreline, and downstream. Test results from the samples show no detectable amounts of all but two substances. Both of those were well below water quality standards and did not appear to be specifically associated with the collapse.

Based on this data we found no current adverse impact on water quality due to the spill.

We are identifying opportunities to improve. We’re working with our federal partners — the U.S. Coast Guard and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers — to ensure that we readily and seamlessly inform each other about issues as they arise along the Detroit River and across our state. Timely notification is an important step in ensuring that we can quickly determine what actions are necessary to protect public health.

We are also asking big-picture questions in the wake of the collapse. Were high water levels a significant factor in this incident? If so, how many other areas along the Detroit River face the same danger, potentially exposing the river to more possible contamination locked in soils? We’re having discussions across the state, internally, and with our state and federal partners about the impact high water levels are having on infrastructure.

We are also evaluating the impact that could occur from other sites along rivers around Michigan that were historically home to factories or other heavy industry. It’s important to keep those industrial pollutants out of our waters. That’s why EGLE spends millions each year to help turn brownfields into viable, usable property that can breathe new life into communities, give residents safe access to waterways and ease fears of negative health impacts.

I and the whole EGLE team are committed to protecting Michigan’s public health and environment while managing our air, land, water and energy resources so they benefit all of the people who live in and visit our beautiful state. Our vision is a Michigan that respects people, treasures natural resources and fosters thriving communities throughout our two peninsulas. We will adhere to those tenets as we proceed with our investigation.

2011: Detroit Bulk Storage had similar Detroit River bank collapse

Liesl Eichler Clark is the director of the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy