Here We Go Again… There are two ways you can use your voice to stop the boat ramp and protect the River Mouth
With its marina permit denied, North Shores now wants to build a boat ramp. The proposed boat ramp violates:
Michigan’s Inland Lakes & Streams Act
The conditions of the Township’s marina permit
The Public Trust
Some quick background:
Less than six months after Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) denied North Shores of Saugatuck a permit to build a marina at the Kalamazoo River Mouth, the developer has applied for a permit to build a boat ramp at the same location. The proposed boat ramp violates Michigan law in many of the same ways its failed marina proposal would have.
There are two ways you can use your voice to stop the boat ramp and protect the River Mouth
1. Attend EGLE’s Virtual Public Meeting Via Zoom at 6 p.m., Tuesday, August 13, 2024.
You can register for the public meeting here. After registering, you will receive a confirmation email with information about joining the meeting. If you are unable to register in advance, you can click on the link or QR code to join the meeting when it starts. If you do not have internet access and would like to join by PHONE ONLY, please use the following phone number: 636-651-3142, and use conference code 374288.
EGLE will likely allow people to provide a brief (2-3 minute) public comment at the meeting.
2. Submit a public comment to EGLE on or before August 23, 2024.
To submit comments and view documents please click on the following link: https://mienviro.michigan.gov/ncore/external/publicnotice/info/2295348103689308824/details
Once the link has opened, click the “Documents” button to view the Public Hearing Announcement, the Public Notice Announcement, and plans for the project.
To leave a comment, please click on the “Add Comment” button and complete the form. After you have entered your comment, please click “Submit.”
Key Points to Make at the Public Meeting and in Your Public Comment
It’s important that your comments to EGLE include specific examples of how the proposed boat ramp violates Michigan’s Inland Lakes & Streams Act. Here are some key points to make:
1. Tell EGLE why and how the Kalamazoo River Mouth is important to you – e.g., you boat, fish, or hike there; you’re a birder, photographer, painter, or naturalist; you teach your children how to identify fish, turtles, and snakes just as your parents taught you; your business relies on tourism and people visiting the dunes or safely navigating the river mouth.
2. Provide EGLE with the specific reasons why they should deny permits, and relate these factors to your own personal experience:
Adding significant yacht traffic at the River Mouth will create significant adverse impacts that are prohibited by Michigan’s Inland Lakes & Streams Act – impacts EGLE cited when it denied the permit for the applicant’s proposed marina in February 2024.
It doesn’t matter how boat traffic enters the river (a marina or a boat ramp) – it matters where and how many.
The resulting yacht traffic would add navigational hazards that would adversely impact the area’s commercial fishing and sailing businesses – a core part of our local economy.
The proposed boat ramp will likely have significant effects on the public and tribal uses of the river, and thus infringe on the public trust rights to navigate and fish.
Other uses of the water, including recreation, fish and wildlife, and aesthetics, will also be affected.
It is against Michigan law to break up a large project Into pieces (piece-mealing).
There are marinas and other boat launches in the area for North Shores residents to use.
Adding a boat ramp violates the conditions of North Shores’ local permit for its proposed marina
3. Conclude by strongly urging EGLE to deny the boat ramp permit because it violates the Inland Lakes & Streams Act – and violates the Public Trust to protect our land and waters for the common good.
If you have questions or need assistance, please email us at: sdcoastalalliance@gmail.com.
