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Construction began last December to turn
270 acres of cherry orchards and woods south
of Arcadia (on the high bluff beside Lake
Michigan) into the $6 million, 18-hole Arcadia
Bluffs golf course. RVP Development, the
Grand Rapids company that owns the land,
wanted the course to look like it was built in
Scotland. One of the company's first actions
was to clear-cut the hardwood forest that
protected the bluff's edge. Nearby residents
warned that taking all the trees, which served as
a wind buffer and soaked up rainwater, would
aggravate erosion into Lake Michigan.
On April 1, 1998, the worst occurred.
Runoff after a rainstorm carried tons of sandy
soil from the construction site into a natural
gully on the bluff. The gully acted as a giant
sluice, pouring so much soil down the steep
slope and into the lake that a brown plume
extended hundreds of feet from the shoreline.
The plume drifted north and was visible in
Arcadia, more than one mile away.
Michigan's Soil Erosion and Sedimentation
Control Act requires developers to take
measures to control erosion and prevent water
pollution. However the law has ceased to be
much of a deterrent because enforcement is
spotty and fines are too small.
RVP was cited by the Department of
Environmental Quality for a water quality
violation, but not fined. The fine from the
Manistee County Soil Conservation District was
$500. Rich Postma, RVP's chairman, said that
since the incident his company has redesigned
its storm water management system and
stabilized the gully, which is a featured hazard
on the course's par-3 16th hole. As for cutting
down all of the trees, Mr. Postma said that was
necessary to enhance views of the lake and the
character of the course. Arcadia Bluffs is
scheduled to open in July 1999.
CONTACT: Keith Schneider at the Institute,
616-882-4723. |
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