Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environmental Remediation topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
City staff updates council on EGLE 'Eagle' restoration grant; council approves Hamlin Road sewer work plan with PFAS pretreatment
Summary
City staff and Tom Wackerman reported progress on the Eagle restoration grant — assessment approvals, RFPs, and $2.2M in subgrant agreements — and the council approved a Hamlin Road sewer-extension remediation work plan that includes PFAS pretreatment and carbon treatment; EGLE approval is still pending.
Rochester Hills staff on Monday briefed the City Council on progress under the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) Eagle restoration grant and gained council approval of a related work plan for a sewer extension along Hamlin Road that includes PFAS pretreatment.
Tom Wackerman, who leads the city’s grant implementation effort, said the city has negotiated higher preapproved work-plan amounts with Eagle to speed approvals and now conducts joint reviews with EGLE to reduce iterations. He reported that assessment work plans for Madison Park (also referred to as the Hamlin Road landfill) and the Highland Woodfill were approved, remediation work plans for other sites are pending, and the city has issued RFPs for remediation contracts. Wackerman said the city has approved roughly $2.2 million in subgrant agreements and more than $700,000 in work plans for on-the-ground remediation.
On the sewer extension along the south side of Hamlin Road (east of Adams Road), staff presented work plan 2024-0407, which calls for pretreatment of dewatered groundwater containing PFAS using carbon treatment and temporary storage in tanks before discharge. Wackerman said EGLE had not yet signed off on the remediation plan but that a joint review meeting was scheduled and staff expected approval following that review. He also said the groundwater pretreatment is intended as a short-term measure needed only during installation; long-term groundwater management would be addressed separately as part of the Madison Park remediation process.
Councilmembers asked about meeting schedules with project partners, the potential for EGLE to reimburse foundation work (staff said EGLE indicated it may reimburse a portion and the city is seeking a written commitment on percentage and conditions), supply-chain and staffing constraints for specialty contractors, and whether the sewer work would disrupt recently repaved road surfaces. Staff said the sewer installation will use directional boring so road surfaces should not be disturbed and that manholes will be located in the right-of-way adjacent to the curb. Staff also said the grant will not pay for long-term maintenance; the grant covers short-term remedies and implementation activities.
Council approved the sewer-extension work plan and a not-to-exceed grant amount of $150,000 for that project (agenda item 2024-0407), subject to the packet’s findings.
Staff noted they are working on scheduling regular coordination meetings with EGLE and applicants, and they expect additional work-plan submissions and contracts to follow as projects move from assessment to remediation.
