CMS Land Company applies for a deep injection well in Emmet County community

RESORT TWP., EMMET CO. -- CMS Land Company has applied to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to install and operate a deep injection well in Emmet County.

The location is at the site of the little Traverse Bay Environmental Project in Resort Township.

The site itself is now upscale developments and a local park. Formerly a concrete plant sat at the site for more than 100 years.

"The water comes when rain water or ground water would move through the cement dust piles it could pick up elevated levels of PH and trace amounts of heavy metals," said Tim Petrosky, an area manager with CMS Land Company, the original developers of the Bay Harbor developments.

Currently CMS collects about 150,000 gallons of water daily.

"We've install approximately 2,800 linear feet of collection line on the beach that intercepts water before it makes it to Lake Michigan," Petrosky said. "that water is then transported to individual locations, its loaded into tanker trucks and then those trucks either go to the Grand Traverse waste water treatment facility or to an injection well in Johannesburg."

At the urging of the MDEQ, CMS submitted an application Friday to operate the deep injection well in Resort Township. This comes after great public resistance for a previously proposed injection well in Alba.

When asked the difference between the Alba location and the Resort Township location, Petrosky said: "The DEQ and EPA will have to go through the application and determine if the well can operate safely. We looked earlier and it didn't look too promising, but the DEQ asked that we more thoroughly research the area and at their request we're doing that and have submitted the application."

There are many variables that are examined to determine if a site is safe enough for a well. Those things include aquifers, drinking water wells, wetlands, recreational areas, and local nature habitats.

While the MDEQ will have the final say on the matter, CMS does have a few other options available to them. CMS can treat the water themselves or they can pump the water through to the Petoskey city waste water treatment facility. Either way, moving forward, Petrosky says there should be an emphasis on local solutions.

"Trucking the water forever is just not sustainable. We need a local solution to this local concern," Petrosky said. "The number one thing we want to do is identify a safe, local disposal option."

While public forums are expected to be held in this manner, there is not yet one scheduled by the MDEQ.