August 29, 2006

Department of Environmental Quality Director Steven E. Chester will be hosting a public meeting in Bay City to discuss the issue of shoreline muck along the Saginaw Bay coastline. DEQ officials will be on hand to answer the public’s questions about the source of the muck, its potential health effects, and what property owners can do to control it.

The meeting will take place on Thursday, August 31, at 6:00 p.m. at the Doubletree Hotel in Bay City. Director Chester will be joined at the meeting by Senator Jim Barcia who has assisted the DEQ efforts to move this process forward.

“Addressing muck along the shoreline of Saginaw Bay is obviously an issue of great importance to this area,” said Director Chester. “I look forward to hearing the thoughts and concerns of the residents of this region as to how we can best improve and maintain this vast coastline.”

The meeting will take place following the initial meeting of the Saginaw Bay Coastal Initiative earlier in the day. Director Chester, along with Department of Natural Resources Director Rebecca A. Humphries, and Department of History, Arts and Libraries Director William Anderson will be discussing efforts with local leaders to develop innovative approaches to expand local tourism and economic development in the Saginaw Bay coastal area while continuing to improve the quality of the environment and the ecology of the region.

Editor’s note: DEQ news releases are available on the department’s Internet home page at www.michigan.gov/deq.

“Protecting Michigan’s Environment, Ensuring Michigan’s Future”

Revised August 29, 2006 by Linda Crawford for Pat Watson