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County board supports resolution seeking equity in economic development funding

MARQUETTE — The Marquette County Board of Commissioners unanimously supported a resolution seeking equity in state economic funding for local economic development organizations Tuesday, with commissioner Joe Derocha absent.

“It’s a resolution asking the legislators to pay attention to the help that we get in the Upper Peninsula for economic development compared to lower Michigan,” Chairman Gerald Corkin said.

The resolution indicates the Michigan Economic Development Corp., which was created by the Legislature to alleviate high unemployment rates by supporting business attraction, retention and growth, has provided more than 235 grants totaling over $200 million over the past four years, but only two of these grants were distributed in the Upper Peninsula.

Of the $200 million distributed, the U.P. has received $400,000 between the two grants received. This is a concern because the 15 rural counties in the U.P. have higher unemployment rates than the Lower Peninsula counties, as well as the national average, the resolution states.

Commissioners voiced their concerns about U.P. counties, and Marquette County in particular, getting their fair share of the grants.

“I’m especially disturbed that the money for rural economic development, the dollars of which are put into that fund from the taxes that we would have received from the Eagle Mine, that are now pouring into there, we don’t seem to be getting our due share of those here in Marquette County,” said Commissioner Stephen Adamini.

With the passage of the resolution, the board has formally requested appropriate legislative review and input on the Michigan Economic Development Corporation and the Michigan Business Development Program grant procedures and guidelines to ensure the programs and funding are available and awarded in an “equitable manner” to all Michigan counties, specifically the 15 U.P. counties.

The board also approved a request from Sawyer International Airport to dispose of around 200 gallons of old aqueous film forming foam, or AFFF, which contains perfluoroalkyl and polyfluroakyl substances, known as PFAS, that are “manmade chemicals that have become an emerging contaminate,” according to board documents.

This class of chemicals has become a concern across Michigan recently, with two chemicals, PFOS and PFOA, being the “two of most concern,” according to board documents.

With board approval, US Ecology, an Idaho-based hazardous waste treatment and disposal company, will dispose of the older AFF by “thermal destruction” and will rinse the tank of the truck holding it, which was found to be “impacted with PFAS.” The cost will be nearly $25,000, which commissioners expressed concerns about, but acknowledged would be a better long-term solution than dealing with the potential cleanup costs, should the older AFFF be used and contaminate soil and/or water.

The board also approved the award of a bid for creating a test well and sealing two existing wells at the Mangum Farm Detention Center. The bid was award to Kleiman Pump and Well Drilling Inc. for around $96,800, as they were the sole responder to the request for proposal packet issued for the county.

The issue stems from a scheduled monitoring sample for pesticides at well No. 1 at the center, which showed high levels of aldicarb sulfone, a pesticide used in the past for farming potatoes. The well has been shut down since May 1 and the detention center has been operating on only one well at this time, but according to board documents, a second well is needed because the Department of Environmental Quality requires a minimum of two wells available to provide potable water to the facility.

Cecilia Brown can be reached at 906-228-2500, ext. 248. Her email address is cbrown@miningjournal.net.

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