EPA objection could halt Ann Arbor plan for whitewater features on Huron River
Editor's note: The date of the Park Advisory Commission meeting has been corrected.
Ann Arbor’s plan to create whitewater features on the Huron River has run into some opposition from the federal government and the Huron River Watershed Council, among others, the Ann Arbor Chronicle reported.
A view of the Huron River, where DTE is cleaning up at the former MichCon site in Ann Arbor.
Melanie Maxwell | AnnArbor.com
The EPA wrote that it was concerned the project would inhibit fish passage and increase stream velocity, thereby altering sediment transport and degrading stream stability, according to the report.
Colin Smith, parks and recreation manager for Ann Arbor, told Park Advisory Commission members Tuesday that the EPA objection could stop the project, the Chronicle reported.
Other letters of objection came from the Deptartment of Natural Resources fisheries division and the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the Chronicle reported.
Comments
Rork Kuick
Fri, Sep 28, 2012 : 4:15 p.m.
G. Orwell's "our river"? That's crazy talk.
Bcar
Mon, Sep 24, 2012 : 2:19 p.m.
What a bunch of BS. where are the fish going to go? up river another 100yrds until they HIT A DAMN??
Unusual Suspect
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 1:07 a.m.
The irony and humor of enviro-greenie Ann Arbor being stopped from doing something by the likes of EPA and DNR is not lost on me.
Mike
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 11:20 p.m.
The EPA is out of control and wreaking havoc on business, individuals, and other governmental bodies......there are more czars in pplace than ever befor ein this country. I can't wait until peopel in the middle class have to deal with the IRS reaching into their bank accounts to collect the fine, er tax for their health care in a few years. Life is good in the USSA..............
clownfish
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 1:50 p.m.
Most people in the "Middle Class" already have insurance, so the IRS probably won't be reaching into their accounts. But then again, the "Middle Class" starts around $ 250k a year, as I understand it from the CEO Candidate.
G. Orwell
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 9:36 p.m.
Why do we need the overloads from the federal bureaucracy to tell us what we can and cannot do with our river. I am sure local and state officials have studied the impact on the environment. How can anyone take the EPA seriously when they tried to outlaw dust on farms. It was an obviously attempt to try and shut down family farms.
xmo
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 8:29 p.m.
It sounds like some people don't take the work of the EPA seriously, Their mission is to stop development of the human race and move us slowing back to the life style of the Native American! Why did President Nixon (a Republican) do this to us? I guess it was his revenge for Watergate!
clownfish
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 1:34 p.m.
Could it maybe have been because rivers were catching fire, species were going extinct, PCB's were ending up in our milk and lead in our blood? Nah, it must have been a desire to take us back to 1776...no wait, that is the Tea Party. Eat more lead, XMO, surely it can't be that bad for you, it is a hippy lie that it causes damage to biological systems.
MRunner73
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 8:26 p.m.
The river does have any whitewater features in it's current state so I do not see why that would be needed now.
G. Orwell
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 8:25 p.m.
Why do we need the overloads from the federal bureaucracy to tell us what we can and cannot do with our river. I am sure local and state officials have studied the impact on the environment. How can anyone take the EPA seriously when they tried to outlaw dust on farms. It was an obviously attempt to try and shut down family farms.
justcurious
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 8:16 p.m.
So this time it may not be human recreation overlording the environment.
Mac
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 7:12 p.m.
I've swam in the Huron literally 100's of times. Water is clean enough. EPA is a joke.
A2comments
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 10:23 a.m.
Sounds like a scientific evaluation to me... Hey, where did you get that extra toe from?
Ignatz
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 7:40 p.m.
Yes, the EPA is a joke now. That's thanks to those in power who don't want it standing in the way of "progress" (aka, making a quick buck at the expense of those who dwell on the planet).
Linda Peck
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 6 p.m.
Is this water safe for swimming, clean enough? I don't think so. White water activities always involve getting quite wet. That would be another concern.
goosenews
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 2:12 p.m.
Then don't use it if you fell it is unsafe.
bhall
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 5:53 p.m.
Yes, so much progress has been impeded since the Clean Water Act was created by Congress in the 1970s! Having clean water and better functioning ecosystems is terrible! Totally shameful that the EPA is doing what it's supposed to be doing under a law passed by the people's representatives. Disgusting.
Stanthepotter
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 1:37 p.m.
You forget that this is normally the fastest stretch of river on the Huron.. The dam is what slows everything down
bhall
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 6:35 p.m.
cinnabar, toxins aren't the only ways to damage rivers. I have no firsthand information about this issue -- just what I've read in the chronicle and in the letters -- but the EPA's letter refers to Section 404 of the Clean Water Act, which is concerned about dredging and filling waters/wetlands and dams. I guess the EPA interprets that those activities seem to be part of the creation of the whitewater project somehow. Either way, changing water velocity, filling areas can affect aquatic life for sure.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 6:11 p.m.
bhall the rec department is not trying to dump toxins in the river, they want to create whitewater features. The EPA meantions fish not being able to navigate the new features, but I wonder how the fish navigate the dam.
cinnabar7071
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 5:42 p.m.
The EPA standing in the way of progress, who would have thought it?
jns131
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 5:37 p.m.
They did this with the salamander over at Skyline. They built a tunnel for them to crawl to the water during mating season. Same thing can be done for the fish as well.
clownfish
Fri, Sep 21, 2012 : 12:48 p.m.
I want a river that catches on fire like they used to before the EPA was formed! Now THAT would be progress.
KMHall
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 8:43 p.m.
...stand in the way of destruction, maybe
Enso
Thu, Sep 20, 2012 : 6:12 p.m.
You call wrecking the environment of the River progress?