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News from the Keweenaw Peninsula October 2, 2001 Photos and Text © 2001 Michele Anderson

DEQ to accept public comments on proposed Mt. Bohemia septic system

MARQUETTE -- A September 28, 2001, public notice on Black Bear's recent groundwater discharge permit exemption application for the Mt. Bohemia Ski Resort near Lac La Belle allows public comment to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) until October 29, 2001. Some South Shore residents have expressed concerns about the proximity of the proposed drainfield to Lac La Belle itself, to residents' wells and to a site where prehistoric artifacts have been found.

Beyond this locked gate, the old "Gravel Pit Road" at Lac La Belle leads to the proposed drainfield for the Mt. Bohemia septic system. A public notice on Black Bear's most recent groundwater discharge permit application is posted where this road meets the Bete Grise Road.

The draft exemption (application accepted with conditions), under Part 31, Water Resources Protection, of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act, 1994, PA 451, as amended, is for a septic and drainfield sewage treatment system. Black Bear proposes to discharge a maximum of 8,500 gallons per day (3,102,500 gallons per year) of sanitary wastewater from their discharge area located near Lac La Belle. The notice indicates the location as the southwest quarter of the northwest quarter of Section 33, T58N, R29W, in Grant Township. The drainfield will be located south of the Bete Grise (or Bete de Gris) Road, near what is known as the former gravel pit. (See note, below.)

At the Sept. 29 South Shore Association (SSA) meeting in Lac La Belle, SSA President Tom Collins discussed the application and the public notice, explaining that anyone can request a public hearing during the 30-day comment period. Collins noted a number of permits were still required, including a wetland permit from the DEQ Land and Water Management Division since the sewer pipe will traverse wetland on its way to the drainfield.

In the Lac La Belle Fire Hall on Sept. 29, Members of the South Shore Association discuss Black Bear's permit application for a septic system proposed for Mt. Bohemia. Pictured at the front table, from left, are officers Anita Campbell, secretary; Tom Collins, president; and Vern Le Blanc, treasurer.

According to U.P. Engineers and Architects' Basis of Design for the Mt. Bohemia septic system, "All sewage will be generated at the ski hill base and will be piped to an existing on-site 34,000 gallon septic tank where the effluent will be piped down hill to a pump station at the bottom of the hill near the Bete Gris Road. The effluent will then be pumped to the proposed drainfield area located south of the Bete Gris Road in a suitable upland area."

A map accompanying the August 31, 2001, application indicates the sewer pipe would run along the Bete Grise Road and cross the road to reach the drainfield area, which is 1,250 feet from the nearest private property line and 1,450 feet from the lake (Lac La Belle).

Geologist Chuck Brumleve, co-chair of the Grant Township Land Use Planning Committee, said the sewer pipe, or force main, would have to cross both the road and a wetland and then carry sewage up a hill to the ridge behind the new Lac La Belle Fire Hall to the drainfield area. Since the system would have to be pressurized to carry the effluent uphill, Brumleve noted, it could pose "far more danger of leakage" than a non-pressurized system using gravity.

However, the DEQ Waste Management Division Fact Sheet on the application mentions only a wetland to the south, in this context: "Nutrients in wastewater expected to be attenuated prior to reaching property boundary lines and/or will have insignificant effect on water quality upon venting to wetlands to the south in presumed groundwater flow direction."

Shortly after inspecting the site on Sept. 12, 2001, Randy Conroy, senior district geologist for the DEQ Waste Management Division in Marquette, said the effluent shouldn't be a problem if it vents to wetlands or surface water before any potential for water supply is affected.

However, Anita Campbell, co-chair of the Grant Township Land Use Planning Committee and a resident of the Sand Point Road area, near the drainfield, asked SSA members to write letters to the DEQ to express their concerns about the proposed sewage system.

"My husband and I are really concerned because we are the closest site to the septic system," Campbell said.

The Campbells' well is 1,350 feet from the drainfield area.

Paul and Anita Campbell also noted the project threatens pre-historic artifacts in the drainfield area.

Said Anita, "That's a link to our past."

Patrick and Susan Martin, Michigan Tech professors and archaeologists, researched the Lac La Belle site, known as 20KE20, in the summer of 1988. The results of that research are published in a 1993 issue (Vol. 39, Nos. 3-4) of The Michigan Archaeologist. In that article the Martins describe the cache of artifacts found at the 20KE20 site and its importance to archaeologists.

Patrick Martin says in the article that the site was tested and recommended for inclusion in the National Register of Historic Places because of "its rarity, its preservation of organics, and its ability to make clear the relationship between copper acquisition and other aspects of resource procurement and trade during prehistoric times."

During a slide presentation to the Houghton County Historical Society in August 2000, Susan Martin said the Lac La Belle site "has a radiocarbon date of 7,800 years, making it the oldest worked-copper-bearing site in North America." 

Anita Campbell said that, despite the nomination to the National Historic Register, landowner Lake Superior Land Co. has not requested the historical listing. On private property an archaeological survey is not required unless the landowner requests it or federal funds or federal laws are involved in developing the area.

Paul Campbell suggested the Grant Township Board might at least request that an archaeological survey be done. He pointed out that Black Bear originally planned to put a sewage treatment system in this same area about a year ago when they were planning to have Keweenaw County apply for a grant (including federal funds) to build the system. They later changed the proposed sewage treatment site to a mile above the ski hill parking lot area, where no known artifacts have been found. When both the county and Grant Township refused to apply for grant monies to fund that proposed lagoon and spray irrigation system, Black Bear changed plans again to the present septic and drainfield proposal at the bottom of the hill.

Conroy said his main concern is the soils evaluation. He added his own observations of the soil on July 23 and Sept. 12 plus the sieve analyses submitted by U.P. Engineers & Architects plus the soil survey information would be taken into account with any other information Black Bear provides.

Conroy said he recently observed the sieve analysis of soils in the area. The soil is analyzed by being put through sieve pans with different screen sizes that shake out the particles. This determines the texture of the soil or particle distribution.

"I'm satisfied," Conroy said. "I just want to look at the (Keweenaw County) soil survey (as an independent evaluation)."

One of the conditions for authorization of the permit states: "Prior to completion of the tile field construction, the permittee shall confirm, in writing to the Waste Management Division Marquette District Office, that the soils in the reserve area for the disposal system meet requirements contained in the Criteria."

The "Criteria" refers to the April 1994 publication, "Michigan Criteria for Subsurface Sewage Disposal." (See note, below.) Another condition for authorization of this permit is that the disposal system shall be designed and constructed in accordance with the provisions of this publication "and include a pressure distribution disposal system." The applicant's plans and specs also still need to receive approval from DEQ Waste Management Division.

Other conditions mentioned in the draft of the permit include the following:

• The applicant must grub vegetation in the area proposed for the tile field construction and receive Department approval upon completion of this preparation. Conroy explained the purpose of getting rid of roots, trees and brush is that bacteria in the soil feed on this vegetation. These bacteria are needed to feed on what is in the wastewater instead.
   
• Septic tanks are to be pumped by a licensed septage hauler before the sludge volume occupies 25 percent of the holding tank capacity.
   
• A flow measurement device is required to monitor the discharge volume. Black Bear will have to record the daily average flow on a weekly basis and the total flow annually in a log that shall be made available upon request to the DEQ or the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department. An annual report of the flows for a given year must be submitted to the DEQ by January of the following year. Conroy said the daily maximum flow and monthly average are reported quarterly. The DEQ monitors the flows to be sure the volume remains under 10,000 gallons per day, since any flows in excess of 10,000 gpd would not meet the nitrogen removal standards for this type of system.
   
• The manner of discharge must not create "any nuisance condition, including, but not limited to, ponding or pooling in or outside of the designated discharge area, erosion, runoff, or odors that may cause an unreasonable interference with the comfortable enjoyment of life and property."
   
• In the event of non-compliance, the permittee must take measures to correct the problem, must notify the Marquette DEQ Waste Management Office within 24 hours and must submit within 10 working days a written report explaining the reason for non-compliance and the actions taken to correct the problem.

Conroy said in mid-September that the question of a certified operator was under discussion.

"It's just a simple pressure distribution system," he said. "The only thing that could go wrong is a pump could malfunction."

Conroy said he believed a maintenance person could probably solve such a problem. He added he would be consulting with the Department's operator training unit to determine whether it trains for this particular operator classification.

An August 31, 2001, letter from Richard Wuori, project engineer for U.P. Engineers and Architects, accompanying the application, states: "We have performed a soils investigation at the proposed drainfield site and it appears the soils are suitable to allow a 0.5 gallons per square foot per day effluent loading rate. Based on the 0.5 loading rate and the previously submitted basis of design to Randy Conroy (July 25, 2001) the drainfield has been sized to handle 8550 gallons per day. The 8550 gallons, however, is extremely conservative since it is not anticipated that the ski hill will experience the number of skiers or flows outlined in the basis of design."

Wuori adds that Black Bear wishes to construct the system in time for this year's skiing season.

Mt. Bohemia's yurts still lack infrastructure. Keweenaw County has not yet determined whether the yurts are permanent structures. During Mt. Bohemia's first season last winter, temporary heated restrooms on trailers were used, with permits from the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department.

In supplemental information sent to Conroy on Sept. 13, Wuori notes soil tests on the drainfield location indicate the soils are acceptable according to "Michigan Criteria for Subsurface Sewage Disposal."

Wuori adds, "The discharge will occur at an on-site location located an extended distance from the nearest property boundary. This extended distance will allow additional treatment of any water prior to discharge off-site. In addition, the nearest type II b water supply well is over 1,800 feet away, which is 24 times the required isolation distance. The nearest domestic water supply well is over 1,000 feet away, which is 20 times the required isolation distance."

Conroy noted this proposed discharge is only one fifth of the discharge indicated on the original proposal for the lagoon and spray irrigation system.

"It is considered a less threatening discharge based on volume," he said.

Residents who wish to comment on the application or request a public hearing should contact: Groundwater Program Section, Waste Management Division, Department of Environmental Quality, P.O. Box 30241, Lansing, Michigan 48909, Telephone: (517) 373-8148.

Note: Black Bear's application for the Part 31 Exemption for a septic system, the public notice and previous applications can be found on the Keweenaw Liberty Library. Click on Black Bear, Inc. For the "Michigan Criteria for Subsurface Sewage Disposal," click just above Black Bear, Inc., under Health Code.