There is an organized campaign to clean up and protect the Charlevoix Watershed in Northern Michigan. A group called The Protect Our Water and Environmental Resources Coalition (POWER) is organizing to fight a toxic legacy that is decades old.

The Penn Dixie company used to produce cement along the shore of Lake Michigan near Charlevoix. In 1980, the plant closed down but left behind a toxic legacy known as CKD - Cement kiln dust. CDK when mixed with water becomes leachate, a toxic bleach-like soup. It burns skin, kills fish and releases large amounts of heavy metals such as mercury, arsenic and lead. A DEQ study in 2004 showed that even in a diluted 10% concentration of leachate, the death rate of fathead minnow was 100%.

The site originally had a government designated "hazardous" label because of the piles of cement kiln dust. In 1991, then Governor John Engler changed the status of the site to "non-hazardous" in order to allow developers to build. In 1994, Bay Harbor developers and CMS Energy built a multi-million dollar resort without having to do any clean up of the site. In fact, they bulldozed the cement kiln dust into quarries and spread some on the ground to build roads and a golf course.

Golf courses use an excessive amount of water, which means that the cement kiln dust became leachate and is now contaminating the surrounding watershed. According to the POWER Coalition, the response to this disaster is to inject the toxic material into the earth. CMS Energy--instead of being forced to conduct an actual clean-up of the site--is proposing to move the contaminated water to the community of Alba and inject the water underground. Alba is the highest point in Northern Michigan and is headwaters to six great watersheds.

The POWER Coalition and Friends of the Jordan River Watershed are calling for an end to this contamination of Michigan's water. The groups are encouraging people to send letters to Governor Granholm asking that she overturn the permit for the proposed site in Alba. If you want more information on ways to support this campaign contact the Friends of the Jordan River Watershed at foj@friendsofthejordan.org.