De pi
pol ution complaint
,
. e &omtbc
comlllunity tliat G&M
EDterp . is conltaJl�1tiII1g
. around the city. ter
, the city commission on
y, JUDe 18, ap oved an
extension of the Riverview,
Michigan companys until July
, 1990, to do major repairs
ad interior and exterior
repainting of Bento Harbor'
650,000 gallen elevated ter
or tank 0 Britain A�ue.
City Manager Steve
Manning said G&.M had to
delay k on the water orage
tank due to weather conditions
and containment restrictions.
When the company was
andblasting the wind would
blo p rticles onto Colfax
Avenue. "The project -shut
down several times when there
re complaints, • he said.
Freddie Moore, owner of
property on Colfax immediately'
above the to er, told the
commission that G&.M
Enterprise w operating in
violation of the' city's
ordinances.
"There can be 0 removal or
no andblasting unle it is
. covered by a canvas," he . d.
Moore said particles from
the sandbl ting re blown
nto hi pr�ert here
member of his f Y
Y f . is �ltbU.
P rticles - and the city
manager's office is informi
people that the particles arc not
dctrimCDtal to your health. "
"You have city codes and I
think the code boo should be
followed. And I think G&.M
Enterpri e i· totally in'
violation - D only of the city's
code," said Moore.
Moore said· the
Environmental Protection
Agency (EPA) contacted
and w to be in the city to
investigate the problem. He
also said he had some of the
particles &om the sandblasting
nt in to be analyzed.
"There's ometbing wrong
with the city government that
its b ck and would allow this
company to possibly endanger
the lives and health, of old
people, children, and possibly
some pregnant women living in
the River Terrace Complex.
Something should be done
about that," said Moote.
"All of you," Moore said to
the commission, "have worked
in a factory t one time or
another and you wouldn't want
to breath those particles
without raising hell about it," e
. d. ·Something has g to be
done to op it."
Some of the residen that
live in the River Terrace
Complex id the p rticles from
tbe saDdblastiog AAJ· __ a..
heavy fog of rain, blowing into
their windOws, putting d all
over their furniture.
Charlotte Potter, property
Sho
manager of River Terr ce, id
she had received a lot of
complaints from the residents
the very beginning. about the
p rticlcs being a health hazard.
"We had to change a lot of
furnace filter because the stuff
(particles from the
sandblasting) was clogging up
the furnace: . d Potter. . .
Potter . d, she didD.'t knoW
how the city could let it get that
b Wit the particles on
streets of Britain and Eighth, i
wa very dangerous when
still working on the tower
lune2l at 7:00 a.m.
At pr time, M 'd
no one from Environmental
Protectio Agency had
contacted or spoken to him
bout the prob em.
Mr. Balduf not avail ble
for .comment at pre time
either.
Commis ion Charles
Yarbrough abstained OD voting
for the exte ion.
someone came to the top sign.
"ff the people driving the cars
were not careful tliere could
have been an accident."
. On Wednesday, June 20, in a
phone conversation with
Moore, he said r. Norm
Balduf of the Department of
Natural Resources, Kalamazoo
office of the Air Pollution
Co 01 DivW9n was in the city
and had "shut down the project
for a period of time until
company get the right
equipment," bu workers were
"WE TAKE 0 nMF
(616) 927-1757
DICKEY
REALTY
GROUP
THAT PROfESSIONAL SlUM!
.CRE S
WEtletytlting We Touch,
Tums to SOLD-
LEASI G
2819 Detroit Rd., ,
616-683-5913
ArrOR EY nd COU SElOR AT LAW
K. ORRIS'GA
GENERAL PRACTICE OF LAW
Call 616/926 .. 7143
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