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Cascade Charter Township board accepts $12.15 million EGLE grant to extend water to part of Hillsborough PFAS area
Summary
The township voted to accept a $12.15 million EGLE alternative water supply grant aimed at extending public water to about 117 Hillsborough-area homes affected by PFAS contamination; board members debated the township’s matching obligation and future funding needs.
The Cascade Charter Township Board voted to accept an EGLE alternative water supply grant of up to $12,150,000 to extend water service to a portion of the Hillsborough Avenue PFAS area of interest.
Township Manager Smith introduced the grant and engineer Eric Thorn described the testing history: the Hillsborough area comprised 470 wells tested; 51 exceeded state PFAS limits, 123 showed detections, and 202 had no detection. Thorn said the EGLE-funded scope as currently configured would provide service to roughly 117 homes — about 25–33% of the 470-home area — and that the township secured EGLE approval to expand the budget from an initial $9.5 million to $12.15 million to include road restoration, permit fees and other local elements.
"This is the Hillsborough area of interest that’s been known to the township since 2023," Engineer Eric Thorn said, summarizing the testing and how the grant maps to the most impacted clusters. "It provides access to 117 homes...about 30–32 of the 51 exceedances are treated."
Board members asked whether accepting the grant would limit future funding options. Thorn and Manager Smith said accepting this grant would not preclude pursuing additional state or federal funds for remaining properties. "It doesn't," Manager Smith said when asked if the grant acceptance prevents other funding.
Trustees moved and seconded the motion to proceed with the grant agreement; the board approved the measure by voice vote. The motion directs staff to finalize the grant agreement and return with any required budget amendments and implementation details.
What happens next: staff will work on the grant agreement paperwork and the township will consider a future budget amendment that would identify any township contribution and narrow the match amount into a specific dollar figure if the board chooses to do so.
