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Grand Ledge Army Aviation Support Facility and Armory (Grand Ledge, Clinton County)

Disclaimer
Web content may not routinely be updated on this page. Please contact the Site Lead for the most up-to-date status of the site.
Content posted November 2021.

EGLE Site Lead

Kim Sakowski, SakowskiK@Michigan.gov or 517-582-2219.

Background

This site is located at 10600 West Eaton Highway. Grand Ledge Army Aviation Support Facility (AASF) and Armory provides training and maintenance for the various aviation units that support the Michigan Army National Guard (MIARNG). The AASF facility consists of a facility maintenance shop, office areas, a maintenance hangar, wash bay, and an unheated "cold" storage building. The Armory includes a shop area, fenced motor pool, aircraft parking area, and various small storage buildings. An Annex Building that is used for storage and training purposes, including flight simulations, is on the south western portion of the property. The Armory (former location of the AASF) historically housed a firefighting unit in the 1980s that was disbanded in the early 1990s.

Grand Ledge AASF Investigation Map

Recent Accomplishments

  • On October 21, 2021, a meeting was held between EGLE and DMVA to discuss fiscal year 2022 funding and work to be accomplished.

Next Steps

  • MIARNG is investigating/addressing EGLE comments on the SI report during the Remedial Investigation/Feasibility Study (RI/FS) phases of the project.

Residential Well Testing/Alternate Water Information

  • Included in EGLE's August 2, 2019, request to MIARNG for sampling were 14 residential homes/wells in the area. MIARNG collected 11 of the 14 residential well samples in January 2020.  Results were mailed to homeowners on March 2, 2020.  All but one home was non-detected for PFOS/PFOA.  An additional 15 residential wells have been proposed for sampling to capture any potential migration to the south/southeast of the site based on groundwater flow data generated from the November - January 2020 field work.  Access requests were sent to homeowners in April 2020.  Sampling is expected to be completed in July 2020.
  • During July 2020, MIARNG sampled 14 residential wells located east and southeast of the national guard facility.  On September 2, 2020, MIARNG notified the 14 homeowners of the results the second round of residential well PFAS sampling activities.  All homes were non-detect for PFOS and PFOA, however, one home had PFHXA detected at 2 ppt.

Upcoming Community Engagement

  • No Community Engagement Events are planned at this time.

Sampling Results Summary

Type of Sample

Date Sampled
(or range)

Number of Sample Results Received

Number of Samples above
 Criteria

Residential Wells

July 2020 14 0
*Residential well and groundwater monitoring well results are compared to EGLE Part 201 criteria for 7 PFAS compounds:  PFOS (16 ppt), PFOA (8 ppt), PFNA (6 ppt), PFHxS (51 ppt), PFHxA (400,000 ppt), PFBS (420 ppt), and HFPO-DA (370 ppt).

Sampling Notes

  • On August 3, 2020, new Part 201 Criteria went into effect.  Historical sampling data compared to Part 201 Criteria >70 is captured in the historical timeline below.
  • The May 2019 sampling effort included 27 soil samples and 3 sediment samples. The November 2019 - January 2020 sampling activities included three shallow groundwater wells, four deep groundwater wells, five surficial soil samples and five surface water/sediment samples.  Final results will be shared with EGLE in a complete written report, expected upon completion of all phases of the Site Inspection(s).

Historical Timeline

    • On May 8-9, 2019, the Michigan Department of Military & Veterans Affairs (DMVA)'s contractor AECOM, collected a total of 42 samples on the property due to historic storage and suspected use of aqueous film forming foam (AFFF) containing PFAS. Those 42 samples included groundwater, surface water, sediment, and soil samples.
    • On July 22, 2019, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) received a map with the results for the groundwater and surface water samples. The complete written report from DMVA, which will include the results for the sediment and soil sampling, is expected in October.
    • On August 2, 2019, EGLE sent MIARNG a request to: conduct residential well sampling; identify and mitigate other receptors and potential exposure pathways; notify all affected parties of site conditions; and define the extent of the contamination.
    • On September 5, 2019, EGLE contacted the following local municipalities to update them on the status of this site:  Mid-Michigan Health Department, Barry-Eaton County Health Department, Michigan Department of Health and Human Services, the City of Grand Ledge, Oneida Township, and Eagle Township.
    • On September 12, 2019, EGLE and MIARNG held a conference call to discuss MIARNG's acknowledgement that additional work is needed at this site and to coordinate a response to all separate EGLE division concerns into one response effort to be submitted by October 17, 2019.
    • On October 30, 2019, EGLE received a Final Site Inspection Supplemental Quality Assurance Project Plan Addendum from MIARNG.  The purpose of this plan is to conduct additional field work to address EGLE concerns generated from the initial site investigation.
    • On November 5, 2019, MIARNG provided EGLE with the Final Preliminary Assessment Report.
    • MIARNG initiated additional investigation activities at the site during the week of November 11, 2019.  The additional activities were to include installation and sampling of three shallow groundwater wells, four deep groundwater wells, five surficial soil samples and five surface water/sediment samples.  Due to equipment issues with installing the deeper wells, residential well sampling was added to evaluate potential off-site groundwater impacts.  Work was completed in January 2020.
    • On November 26, 2019, MIARNG held a conference call with EGLE, and local and state health departments to discuss issues with installing the proposed deep monitoring wells and in lieu of installing them, sampling residential wells instead.
    • On December 10, 2019, MIARNG held a conference call to discuss the upcoming Town Hall Meeting.
    • On December 19, 2019, a town hall meeting was conducted to update the community on the currently known site conditions and the upcoming residential well sampling efforts.
    • On January 29, 2020, MDHHS held a conference call with MIARNG, EGLE, Barry-Eaton County Health Department and Mid-Michigan Health Department to discuss the Site-Specific Public Health Action Plan for private drinking water wells should results indicate additional action is needed to protect public health.
    • On January 30, 2020, MIARNG released the revised groundwater contour map developed from the most recent round of field work.
    • On March 2, 2020, MIARNG mailed the results of the residential well sampling to the individual homeowners.
    • On March 4, 2020, MIARNG, EGLE, Barry-Eaton County Health Department and Mid-Michigan Health Department held a conference call to discuss next steps.
    • On April 9, 2020, MIARNG notified EGLE that access letters were sent to 15 homes to be included in the second round of residential well sampling activities.  Sampling will not be conducted until after the COVID-19 restrictions are lifted.
    • On July 16, 2020 the Michigan Army National Guard (Lansing Environmental Office) and the Army National Guard (Installations & Environment - Cleanup Branch, Arlington, VA)  hosted a conference call to brief local leaders, and State and local environmental and health agencies regarding the current status of and plan moving forward for the Second Round of the Grand Ledge Army Aviation Support Facility residential well sampling effort.
    • During the last week of July 2020, MIARNG sampled 14 residential wells located east and southeast of the national guard facility.  One homeowner in the area had denied access for the sampling.
    • Type of Sample

      Date Sampled

      # of Samples

      # of Results Received

      # of Non-detects

      # Between Non-detect and standard*

      #>Standard

      Groundwater

      May 2019 - present 16 9 6 2 1
      Surface Water May 2019 - present 8 3 0 1 2
      Drinking Water January 2020 11 11 10 1 0

      Cumulative

      35 23 16 4 3

      *Groundwater results are compared to EGLE Part 201 Criteria of 70 ppt PFOS+PFOA.
      *Surface water results are compared to Rule 57 surface water quality values of 12 ppt (PFOS) and 12,000 ppt (PFOA).

      • Associated Sampling Notes: The May 2019 sampling effort included 27 soil samples and 3 sediment samples. The November 2019 - January 2020 sampling activities included three shallow groundwater wells, four deep groundwater wells, five surficial soil samples and five surface water/sediment samples.  Final results will be shared with EGLE in a complete written report, expected upon completion of all phases of the Site Inspection(s).

    • On September 2, 2020, MIARNG notified the 14 homeowners of the results the second round of residential well PFAS sampling activities.  All homes were non-detect for PFOS and PFOA, however, one home had PFHXA detected at 2 ppt.
    • On September 2, 2020, MIARNG notified the 14 homeowners of the results the second round of residential well PFAS sampling activities.  All homes were non-detect for PFOS and PFOA, however, one home had PFHXA detected at 2 ppt.
    • On October 21, 2020, EGLE received the draft Final Site Inspection (SI) Report from the MIARNG summarizing the Phase I and Phase II investigation results conducted between November 2019 - July 2020.  A conference call was also held on the same day between MIARNG, EGLE and local health departments to present the information.
    • On October 23, 2020, EGLE requested a triage geology review of the SI report by Michigan Geology Survey.  Results of their review are expected in November.
    • On November 23, 2020, EGLE provided comments to MIARNG on the draft Final Site Inspection (SI) Report.
    • On January 11, 2021, EGLE received the Final Site Inspection (SI) Report and Response to Comments (RTC) document from the MIARNG summarizing the Phase I and Phase II investigation results conducted between November 2019 and July 2020.
    • In May 2021, MIARNG began additional investigation activities to address EGLE comments on the Final Site Inspection (SI) Report.