Jessica Mathews / news@whmi.com


An annual agreement has been approved for the continued monitoring and sampling of the Lucy Road landfill site in the City of Howell.

In 2012, the City achieved a “No Further Action” or NFA designation on the site with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. That agreement required a long-term monitoring commitment for sampling and maintenance from the City and M.A. Hanna.

At its last meeting, the Howell City Council approved a proposal with GHD Engineering of Plymouth to perform the work - which is said to have done an excellent job for the past six years.

The City shares the cost with M.A. Hanna, the company that was partially responsible for the contamination in that area.

City Manager Erv Suida commented during the meeting that the NFA plan means they are not required to do any additional actions. He noted they are currently in year eleven of a 30-year plan. Suida said there’s no further remediation required as they’ve capped the mound, it’s fenced in, and they do continuous monitoring and testing throughout the year. That’s required for the next 30 years, along with annual reports submitted to the state.

The proposal as submitted had no increase in the original fee schedule and testing costs from the last approved proposal. However, a new task was added to the original scope of work to address any responses or meetings associated with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy or EGLE.

A memo states both City Staff and M.A. Hanna agree that GHD has been doing an excellent job meeting the NFA requirements while maintaining adequate cost controls and they are very satisfied with their overall performance.

The proposal approved by Council covers the cost of annual monitoring, sampling, testing, and reporting for an amount not to exceed $39,200 – with the City responsible for 40% of those costs.