Why This Website?
This website was originally created around 12-15-2020 in an attempt to contact any EGLE management above the district office level after many unsuccessful attempts via e mail and messages left on unanswered phones at both EGLE and Governors Whitmer’s offices over a time period of several months regarding submitted Shore Savers permit applications.
Specifically, our inquiry was regarding the lack of any progress on the processing of 2 Shore Savers permit applications submitted by our permit agent, Peterson Environmental, to EGLE’s Kalamazoo office, the first being Lammert HPO-CMMR-OJ993, located at 2310 N M63, Benton Harbor filed around 6-9-2020, and a second being Alger HP2-G8GS-R00Q3, located at 908 Adams Road, South Haven around 9-4-2020.
After asking for comment from the EGLE director and Gov Whitmer on the fixdammEGLE website I was contacted on 12-17-2020 by both Field Operations Section Manager Luis A. Saldivia and assistant director Jerrod Sanders. We chose to communicate with Director Sanders as in Sept of 2019 we had to resort to having a tv station contact Manager Saldivia to induce him to answer an e mail after a month of promises. The e mail was inquiring about what erosion control options EGLE preferred as the Grand Rapids office advised me in person that they could only answer any questions if a permit application was submitted.
It appears actual review of the second Shore Savers application started around January 1 st of 2021, approximately 6 months after submittal, and was denied on Jan 22 nd of 2021 with the only reason stated being that EGLE would not issue a wavier for an EPA 401 return water quality standard for power plants and sewer treatment plants. EGLE routinely issues this wavier for any type of permitted marine construction, erosion control, seawalls docks, and effectively eliminates the permitted uses of Shore Savers in Michigan for any application including Federal permits when out of EGLE’s jurisdiction.
It could appear that this slow walk of the applications and collusion with the USAC to deny permits in using a non applicable 401 standard is a malicious act of retribution by Manager Saldivia who bears direct oversight over the Kalamazoo EGLE office. And Director Sanders with the knowledge of Director Keately is assisting in taking out Shore Savers LTD as a company by attempting to sweep this under the rug. Although Direct Sanders expressed that’s not how EGLE works, is this all just incompetent management? So assuming EGLE has nothing to hide and is fully accountantable and transparent and giving them all the benefit of the doubt;
- Please explain why or how did these applications, especially Lammerts, did not get reviewed for 9 months after filing, is no one responsible for that office?
- Please explain why a 401 water quality standard is applied to only this erosion control product and what specific parts per million of what pollutants is it expected to discharge versus any other permitted marine construction?
- What is the criteria being used for review of erosion control structures?
- Who is actually doing the reviewing and what specialized education and actual experience do they have related to marine construction?
We have ask these questions repeatedly many times, are they unreasonable coming from a marine contractor and manufacturer of an erosion control product? Or does EGLE management want to keep their actual practices hidden from the public or in just this case for some reason? Does not any government body have the authority to hold this agency accountable at all?
And what about the best interest of the client whose property continues to erode for months and months, this is the best citizens can expect or just EGLE’s version of Pure Michigan?
Why Shore Savers? After quoting several rock revetments we decided we did not feel ethically comfortable competing in a market where permit drawings were only used to obtain permits with no further actual construction accountability required by anyone. Obviously, some contractors would have much lower expenses and most lakeshore property owners assumed that a EGLE permit included some form of contractor accountability measures. (see permits) We did contact and advise Michigan’s Attorney General Dana Nessel’s office of our perceptions of the extensive fraud occurring although her only response was an auto reply advising of other political priorities.
Some time ago we directed our resources to developing a proprietary, patented, innovative and progressive erosion control solution (www.shoresavers.com) we felt comfortable installing that offered many significant advantages to our clients and the Great Lakes environment. We are not politicians, only a hard working marine construction company trying to pay our bills and great employee’s in a locked down state and want to go to work.
During this permit process we have learned much about EGLE’s policy’s, processes, and actions which appears to directly contradicts EGLE’s often public projections of competence, transparency, cooperation, and mission statement. EGLE directors are political appointee’s that usually rely on a deputy director that has worked under several administration’s to actually manage EGLE. Is it time to hire an outside deputy director not trained in hiding EGLE’s many failures and own the job? A deputy director familiar with offering any comprehensive accountability with the skill set to realize that 5’ raising lake levels may increase erosion and require more permit processing? Is this not the deputy director’s job to be aware of and address these issues? What is the next EGLE failure assuredly in the pipeline costing taxpayers hundreds of millions more?
E mailed letters of support and/or financial contributions of any size to our go fund me link would be greatly appreciated by our clients for their decision to make environmentally responsible decisions, Shore Savers for all the effort and expense devoted to finding better solutions and only needs a permit, we must all speak for the unique Lake Michigan beach’s and dunes which appears to have few other voices or advocates acting on its behalf and has no voice of its own.
So far, we have shamed EGLE into actually live answering 2 published phone lines and clearing an answering machine that has been left full for 7 months, this is huge progress for EGLE!!