PLYMOUTH TOWNSHIP, Mich. (WXYZ) — A critical vote in Plymouth Township Tuesday night will help determine whether a wastewater treatment plant will be built at the border of Salem and Plymouth townships, an issue that has remained unresolved for 18 months.
Watch the report in the video player below:
I covered the story back in December 2023.
Salem Township proposed building the wastewater treatment plant at the corner of M-14 and Napier Road, but the plan has faced opposition from neighboring Plymouth Township residents concerned about property values and quality of life.
"I want clean water in Fellows Creek. And I don't want the smell of a sewage treatment plant for Plymouth Township," said Dale Bernhardt, who has lived in Plymouth Township for over three decades.
Hear more from Plymouth Township residents Dale Bernhardt and Paul Schulz in the video player below:
"We want to hold on to our property value, and having a wastewater plant right to our west when the wind blows to the east is really an issue. We already have two landfills here that create a lot of stink," said Paul Schulz, another longtime Plymouth Township resident.
Salem Township attorney Ed Plato says the township is working on an upcoming light industrial and residential development of over 500 homes, making wastewater management essential.
"Our preference would be not to build the plant. 'Cause then, we would have to maintain it. It's expensive over the years," Plato said.
Watch our December 2023 story in the video player below:
Plymouth Township residents favor an alternative solution: running a sewer line underground through Plymouth Township, Canton Township and Van Buren Township to Ypsilanti's wastewater treatment plant.
When I asked about the cause of the delay in resolving this issue, Schulz pointed to politics.
"I think it's really political," Schulz said.
"I think some people think that they can stop the development of Salem Township, so they think they can keep saying no, and it just won't happen," said Anne Marie Graham-Hudak, Canton Township supervisor and engineer by trade.
Graham-Hudak believes connecting pipes to existing infrastructure is preferable to building a new plant.
"Because of the flooding we had in Canton, it won't be good for Canton flooding," Graham-Hudak said.
Tuesday night's vote in Plymouth Township is the first step in a series of votes by all involved townships that will determine whether to build the wastewater treatment plant or install a forced main connection.
When asked why anyone would vote for a plant over connecting pipes, Bernhardt called it the "$64,000 question."
"We can't understand that. It's foolish. EGLE has already said if you don't vote to hook up this pipe this evening, they are going to go ahead and issue the permit to construct the wastewater treatment plant," Schulz said.
EGLE, or the Michigan's Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, oversees environmental permits.
"I mean, EGLE has said they don't want this. Salem Township has publicly said they don't want the plant. Plymouth Township doesn't want this, Canton Township doesn't. I think the answer is there. And EGLE has also stated in their documents that if a viable solution is offered, and I believe a viable solution is offered," Graham-Hudak said.
Plato emphasized the significant investment already made in the area's infrastructure.
"The state of Michigan has already invested $30 million in the urban service district there. All the water utilities are in, the sewer lines are all in, except for where it's going to go," Plato said.
Graham-Hudak confirmed that Canton Township will oppose the wastewater plant if Tuesday night's vote leans in that direction.
Bernhardt and Schulz plan to attend the Plymouth Township Hall meeting and are encouraging other affected residents to attend and voice their opinions.
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