banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner
banner

Local News

Little Thornapple River Drain restoration may be moving closer

The latest plan to repair the damage done in 2015 to the Little Thornapple River Drain by tree removal to prevent flooding has been submitted to the DEQ for review and approval, Barry County Drain Commissioner Jim Dull said Tuesday.

Aaron Snell, co-owner of Streamside Ecological Services, submitted a revision of an earlier restoration plan that has been at the DEQ for months.

 

Dull said he is optimistic that this plan will be approved after working with DEQ officials, Snell and the other members of the Intercounty Drain Board.

The board has jurisdiction over the drain which has parts in Barry, Ionia and Kent counties. Drain Commissioners of the three counties sit on the board.

Dull anticipates the DEQ will approve the plan, and submit it to the Environmental Protection Agency. “They might make some tweaks, but I expect to move ahead,” he said. “Everyone just wants to get it done."

"With the exception of one property owner (along the affected area of the river) all of the other owners have said we could work on their property,” Dull said. That owner will work directly with the DEQ, he said.

With the various approvals, and oversight by the DEQ, work can begin. In the meantime, the Intercounty Drain Board attorney will produce an agreement for the board and the DEQ on the scope of the work to be done, Dull said.

Listen Live

DOWNLOAD OUR MOBILE APP

FOR YOUR PHONE OR TABLET!

     

Weather

On Air Now

Best Country Hits
Best Country Hits
10:00am - 3:00pm
Midday Show