Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Groundwater Egle topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Commissioners vote to invite EGLE to discuss Crown Park monitoring well after farmers raise concerns
Summary
Montcalm County commissioners voted July 13 to invite Michigan’s EGLE to a July 27 meeting to answer questions about a request to place a test/monitoring well at Crown Park after local farmers and a hydrogeologist said one-time sampling could misrepresent groundwater conditions.
Montcalm County Board of Commissioners voted July 13 to invite the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to the board’s July 27 meeting to discuss a request to drill a test or monitoring well at Crown Park. The board approved the invitation by voice vote following an extended discussion about testing methods and local monitoring data.
Brenda, the county controller, presented EGLE’s correspondence and asked whether the board wanted the agency to attend the July 27 meeting to answer questions about the data collection described in the letter. She described the packet materials and asked commissioners whether the information was sufficient.
Several commissioners and participants raised concerns that EGLE’s proposed approach — described by some as limited, one‑time sampling — could fail to capture aquifer behavior that growers say is visible only in continuous monitoring records. One commissioner summarized community concerns: "Potatoes are a main industry in our county…they take a lot of water to grow," and growers worry that a single sample could be misinterpreted, triggering unnecessary regulatory action.
A hydrogeologist who addressed the board at a prior meeting was cited as saying that short-term field tests are less informative than the long-running monitoring wells that local farmers funded and operate. Commissioners also noted that some growers already maintain continuous monitoring wells that produce 24/7 data and questioned why EGLE had not requested those existing records.
Board members who spoke in opposition to the immediate granting of county permission for a test well emphasized the limited scope of the county’s authority (permission would apply only to county property) and suggested due diligence before deciding whether to allow drilling on county land. One commissioner said the only action required of the board was to grant or deny permission for use of county park land; state land and other options remain available to the agency.
After discussion the board moved, supported and approved the invitation for EGLE to attend the July 27 meeting to discuss the request for a test or monitoring well at Crown Park. The board’s next formal step is that July 27 meeting; EGLE’s attendance and any additional materials they supply will be part of that discussion.
