michigan department of environmental quality memorandum 12 13 2007

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MICHIGAN DEPARTMENT OF ENVIRONMENTAL QUALITY

INTEROFFICE COMMUNICATION

TO Maureen Houghton Grants Specialist

Grants Management Michigan Department of Natural Resources

FROM Lorraine Thomas Kalamazoo District Office

Remediation and Redevelopment Division

DATE December 13 2007

SUBJECT City of Benton Harbor Jean Klock Park Mitigation for the Harbor Shores Golf

Course Berrien County Michigan

Following our telephone conversation on December 10 2007 discussed the soil contamination

on the Benton Harbor park mitigation parcels with Department of Environmental Quality

DEQ Remediation and Redevelopment Division toxicologist As you know in the past we hadcompared the soil sample results with the generic residential cleanup criteria as established

under Part 201 Environmental Remediation of the Natural Resources Environmental Protection

Act 1994 PA 451 as amended NREPA Generic residential criteria was used for comparisonbecause the DEQ has not established generic state-wide recreational cleanup criteria

Specifically the toxicologist and discussed the feasibility and appropriateness of using

site-specific recreational cleanup criteria established for similar recreational facility in

Buchanan Berrien County for arsenic direct soil contact issues and reached the conclusion that

since the expected use parameters at the Buchanan facility are in fact more conservative than

the anticipated use patterns at the proposed Benton Harbor mitigation areas it would be

appropriate and reasonable to use the Buchanan criteria on the Benton Harbor mitigation areas

The Buchanan recreational cleanup criteria was based on anexposure frequency

of 100

days/year for children It is difficult to predict what the actual use of the Benton Harbor areas

will be but 100 days per year allows use for days/week for June July and August as well as

days/week during the spring and fall months of March through May and September through

October Use of the park during November January and February when the surface soil is

either frozen or snow covered should not result in any direct contact to any contaminated soils

The recreational cleanup criteria for the Buchanan site was calculated at 25 parts per million

ppm for Arsenic direct contact and is not Part 201 generic criteria

Following this logic reviewed the data submitted in the April 2007 Evaluation of Jean Klock

Park Mitigation Parcels submitted by Earth Tech as well as the November 2007 Documentation

of Compliance with the Part 10 Rules submitted by Gannett Fleming The analysis of that dataindicates

the following

Parcel has no exceedance of generic residential cleanup criteria or the 25 ppmArsenic value


Parcel is not facility as defined by Part 201

Parcel has sample locations where contamination exceeds the generic residential

cleanup criteria or the 25 ppm Arsenic value The first location is 80-2 which has soil

contamination that exceeds the generic criteria for Lead direct contact That location will

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Maureen Houghton

Page of

December 13 2007

be remediated by placement of minimum of of fill for the development of the

proposed golf course that mitigation area will not physically be used for the golf course

but because of its proximity to the golf course landscaping will result in placement of

the fill covering the sample location 80-2 The second location is SB-3 whichexceeds the 25 ppm Arsenic value That location is physically submerged and is

approximately below the 100 year flood plain elevation The likelihood of persons

coming in physical contact with any soil in that location is minimal The area is not

conducive to either fishing or swimming because of the shallow water depth and the

presence of cattails and other wetland species

Parcel has no exceedance of generic residential cleanup criteria or the 25 ppm

Arsenic value

Parcel has one sample location 116-3 where soil contamination exceeds the 25

ppm Arsenic value Placement of an isolation zone to restrict contact with contaminated

soils meets the requirements of Part 201 of the NREPA but excavation of the soils in

that area would result in remediation of the site to meet residential criteria


Parcel received limited residential closure from the DEQ as result of completing

consent order with the United States Environmental Protection Agency in 2003

In addition the Documentation of Compliance with the Part 10 Rules dated November 2007

specifies that all of the proposed trails and walkways will be constructed of either asphalt

concrete or crushed stone which will provide an additional isolation zone for any remaining

contamination

In conclusion compliance with the Documentation of Compliance with the Part 10 Rules

document and the proposed changes in this memo should allow reasonable protection for the

use of the proposed mitigation areas as public parkland

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December 2007

HARBOR\ SHORES

Ms Maureen Houghton

Grants Management

MDNR

530 Allegan

Lansing MI 48933

Re Documentation of Compliance with the Part 10 Rules

Jean Klock Park Mitigation Parcels through

Benton Harbor and Benton Township

Berrien County Michigan

Dear Ms Houghton

Enclosed for your review is copy of the Documentation of Compliance with the Part 10

Rules for the Jean Kiock Park Mitigation Parcels located in Benton Harbor and Benton

Township Berrien County Michigan

If you have any questions please contact me

Bestregards

Harbor Shores Community Redevelopment Inc

Enclosure

cc Ms Lorraine Thomas

400 R IV ER VI EW D RI VE SUI TE 4 20 BENTON HARBOR MI 49022 269926 6688 269926.8088 WWW.HARBORSHORESRESORT COM

Trustee

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Project -\-cLr c-- --- Page 11

From

To

Date

Subject

Maureen Houghton

Ernest Sarkipato

7/11/2007 85333 AM

Re Benton Harbor Harbor Shores Project

Thats Ok Ernest Ben has good idea of whats going on with the various DNR mitigation sites but am

most interested at this point in getting more detail on whats going to happen with Parcel This is site

thats being used for floodplain mitigation and most of the upland area will be excavated away Like you

said the file is huge and just wading through the final permit is challenge Lets plan t o t al k next week

after Ben is back in the office Thanks for your reply

Maureen

Maureen Kay Houghton

Grants Specialist

Grants Management

Michigan Department of Natural Resources

P.O Box 30425

Lansing Ml 48909-7925

Phone 517-373-2965

E-mail houghtonmmichigan.gov

Check out our website

www.michigan.gov/dnr/

Ernest Sarkipato 7/ 1/2007 806 AM

000ps should have read this note before sending an already late reply

the loop if can be of use

trust that Ben will bring me in

Maureen Houghton 07/06/07 424 PM

Hi Matthew and Ben reviewed the DEQ permit and found drawings for floodplain mitigation sites

and All of the drawings are close-ups and dont give me enough info to pin down the locations The

map showing the entire project area Sheet of 51 indicates locations for the impact areas1-18 but not

the mitigation sites A-D

Ive discussed the overlap of DEQ and DNR mitigation sites with the citys attorney after Ben and

talked Im expecting the city and Harbor Shores to address t he i ss ue o f upland excavation for floodplain

mitigation from DNR/Grants mitigation site which will likely affect the appraised value and the sites

potential for development for public access and recreational use

Also well need to continue coordinated discussions regarding DEQ-required stream mitigation that will

affect DNR/Grants mitigation site as tentatively proposed As Ben described it the stream mitigation

corridor could be 160-200 ft wide with the DEQ conservation easement covering the same area This

would be concern b ut n ot necessarily problem for the grant mitigation requirements Depending on

how its done the stream mitigation project could improve a es th et ic s o f t he site and not hinder public

access facilities such as boardwalk

Please keep me in the loop if DNR/Grants mitigation sites may be affected by DEQ requirements We

may be able to make adjustments if needed but the farther we get down the path the harder it will be The

Grants conversion and mitigation proposal has been shipped to the National Park Service for their review

and approval Changes to the plans at this stage would be.. awkward Thanks

Maureen

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Haro 4rbShores Project Pa9j

Ben Zimont 7/5/2007 1212 PM

Maureen--

Floodplain Mit Area Yes its where FP compensating cut must happen As for the final elevations Im

going to have t o de fe r to Matt Occhipinti or Ernie Sarkipato floodplain engineers The floodplain portion

of this file is inches thick Generally can say They never proposed that area to become WETLANDbut since it the purpose of the compensating cut is to provide floodplain storage it will become

f lo od pl ai n E xa ct ly how low elevation will it be Thats going to have to be answered by Matt or Ernie

sorry guys

Stream mitigation They are still proposing to daylight Sawyer Drain and it would run roughly from the NE

corner of M63/Higman Park Road southeast to approximately where the Paw Paw River turns south

was there with DNR Fisheries last Friday They still have MANY issues to resolve before that mitigation

site/plan can be approved Their current proposal depicts meandering stream within created ravine-of-

sorts and the width of the ravine top of bank to top of bank of approximaty 100 feet wide They label

the project limits as being corridor ranging from 160-200 feet wide IF IF IF this was approved would

expect the DEQ easement to be of similar width It could be written to allow for MNRTF bridge/trail/etcto cross it though

Hope this helps

Maureen Houghton 07/05/07 1046 AM

Hi Ben FYI.. the conversion and mitigation proposal was shipped off to the National Park Service last

week At this time Im checking on t he s t at us o f DEQ permit mitigation requirements

Has Parcel so lDd in grant programs and regulatory programs been agreed to as the site for

floodplain mitigation If so do you have more detail for me like site plan with dimensions location and

amount of upland to be removed Removal of upland from t hi s s it e could significantly affect its appraisedvalue

Has the stream mitigation site been IDd The grant programs Parcel long narrow parcel along rivers

edge was possibly going to be affected by daylighting of county drain that crosses the parcel Do youhave site plan with dimensions location of stream project and e xt en t o f t h e stream corridor that DEQ will

include in the conservation easement

Anything else going on that you think might affect our grant programs conversion and mitigation

concerns

Take care

Maureen


Grants Specialist

Grants Management


P.O Box 30425


Phone 517-373-2965

E-mail houghtonmmichjgan.gov


www.michiqan.gov/dnr/

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ureen Houghton Benton Harbor conversion and mitigatior proposal cIiIi1

From Maureen HoughtonTo gfieldsdickinsonwright.comDate 6/22/2007 95516 AM

Subject Benton Harbor conversion and mitigation proposal

Hi Geoff Attached is the narrative for t he s ub mi tt al t o NPS We should be ready t o mai l t he entire

package out early next week 6/25 or 26

Weve learned that some of the wetland and stream mitigation being required by DEQ under t he P ar t

301/303/31 permit may affect grant program mitigation sites Almost all o f t he grant program mitigation

sites also have some known level of soil contamination Weve coordinated reviews between DNR DEQHarbor Shores and the

city pretty thoroughly already so dont think these concerns will hold up

submitting the proposal to NPS but the questions need to be addressed Please route these as needed so

we can discuss

DEQ/RRD

There is known contamination of the soils on all of the mitigation sites except perhaps Parcel What

measures will be employed to make the sites suitable for public outdoor recreation When will due care

plan be completed for s ub mi tt al t o DEQ Does the known contamination affect appraised value

DEQ/LWMD

Mitigation required under permit 06-11-0142-P issued May 2007 may i nc lu de t he following

references are to grant program mitigation parcels..

Parcel possible l oc at io n o f stream daylighting as mitigation for stream encasing elsewhere would cut

across this parceL conservation easement held by DEQ would also be imposed Will this affect

appraised value

Parcel floodplain cut as mitigation for floodplain fill elsewhere will eliminate most of the upland island

on this parcel Will this affect appraised value

Parcel streambank restoration as mitigation for marina development would include portion of this

parcels riverfront conservation easement held by DEQ may also be imposed on the restored area Will

this affect appraised value

am a va il ab le t o meet with you and others or to discuss this over the phone Please feel f re e t o contact

me at your earliest convenience Thanks as always

Maureen


Grants Specialist

Grants Management


P.O Box 30425


Phone 517-373-2965

E-mail houghtonmmichigan.gov

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ureen_Houghton-Re Harbor Shores Page11

From Maureen HoughtonTo Lorraine Thomas

Date 4/20/2007 80206 AM

Subject Re Harbor Shores

Thanks so much Lorraine lU be in touch


Grants Specialist

Grants Management


P.O Box 30425


Phone 517-373-2965

E-mail houghtmkmichigan.gov


www.michigan.gov/dnr/

Lorraine Thomas 4/20/2007 759 AM

OK Maureen Ill send the letter today

Harbor Shores will not need permit to address the contamination however they must meet their due

care obligations In a dd iti on t he Berrien County Brownfield Redevelopment Authority at the request of

Harbor Shores has received $1 million in grants and $2 million in loans to be paid back by Harbor

Shores to address their due care obligations as well as some other activities It is my responsibility to

review the work associated w it h t he grant and loans for compliance with the approved work plan as well as

approval of invoices for them to receive their grant and loans

DtPlease feel free to call me or email me whenever

youhave questions or concerns

Lorraine

Maureen Houghton 04/18/07 134 PM

Thanks Lorraine reviewed the letter and it looks like what we need at this point

As development of the mitigation parcels begins will Harbor Shores or the city of Benton Harbor need to

get permits for addressing contamination issues Would they be required to just f ol lo w t he due care plan

Im not familiar with the particulars of your program area

know there are wetlands floodplain and streams involved so theyll need permit from LWMD Ive been

coordinating with Ben Zimont on their review o f t he larger project area of Harbor Shores beyond Jean

Klock Park and the grant mitigation sites In our discussions we agreed that it was important to

communicate and coordinate progress on this project without unnecessarily holding up anyone and

without one agency getting too far ahead of the others My plan is to continue to be in contact with you so

that Im not moving ahead before its ready

Please feel free to contact me anytime Thanks

Maureen


Grants Specialist

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michigan department of environmental quality memorandum 12 13 2007

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