Saugatuck group eyes Great Lakes Restoration funds for Kalamazoo Harbor cleanup

If federal funding through the Great Lakes Restoration Initiative is available for the cleanup of local waters, a Saugatuck group aims to apply for a good portion of the $475 million to cleanup Kalamazoo Harbor.

According to excerpts from the story:

The Kalamazoo Harbor Master Plan Committee hopes the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s new $475-million Great Lakes Restoration Initiative will include funds for local waters.

The GLRI is intended to target “the most significant problems in the region, including invasive aquatic species, non-point source pollution and contaminated sediment,” its charge says.

The committee—comprised of representatives from Douglas and Sauga-tuck cities, plus Saugatuck township—seeks to address harbor issues, perhaps most urgently siltation choking boat traffic.

The harbor, described by a $40,000 study commissioned by the two cities in 2006 as the “lifeblood” and “economic engine” of the communities, was last dredged comprehensively in 1936.

Ann Arbor engineering firm JJR’s 138-page harbor technical report said in 2007 such work today might cost up to $45 million.

Read the complete story here.




Enjoy this story? Sign up for free solutions-based reporting in your inbox each week.