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Garfield Township adopts soil-erosion ordinance; county to transfer about 48 permits and surety funds
Summary
Garfield Township passed its own Part 91 soil-erosion ordinance effective Jan. 15, prompting Grand Traverse County to transfer roughly 48 open permits and several surety bonds to the township and to prepare transition agreements and outreach to permit holders.
Garfield Township adopted a local soil-erosion ordinance effective Jan. 15 that, staff told the county board, removes the county’s enforcement authority for Part 91 sediment-control permitting in that township. County environmental health staff and administration briefed the board on the operational implications and described a rapid transition plan.
Mr. Leahy, a county health department official, said staff identified roughly 48 permits that now must be transferred to Garfield Township and that a smaller, single-digit number of surety/bonding arrangements carry a financial obligation that the county is working to hand off. He said the county has prepared two types of transfer documents (one for permits with no financial transaction and one for permits with monetary values) and that legal review is underway. "That is why we have a document in front of legal right now to review and then to proceed forward," Leahy said; staff said they hoped to complete the transfer paperwork within days to a week.
Commissioners asked how the change would affect permit fees, staffing and whether shifting permitting out of the county’s environmental health enterprise fund would reduce revenue for other county services. Leahy said county inspectors perform a range of services (wells and septic, inspections) and that the department had modeled impacts; he did not predict a major revenue shortfall for the county but said the transfer could change inspection throughput and that county staff would monitor revenue and workload through 2025.
Board members raised process and communication concerns: several questioned whether Garfield Township consulted the county before passing the ordinance and urged an informational outreach to affected permit holders because some projects include posted surety bonds. Leahy said the county had met with Garfield Township officials, delivered permit files and would notify permit holders of the transition and any immediate obligations under the township’s fee schedule.
