Undermining the Dunes
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May/June 1999
Features
Bike Friendly Cities
by Lucinda Means
Undermining the Dunes
Auto Industry Greed is Destroying Our Most Scenic Treasures
Motor City Challenge
Ecology Center Demands Cleaner Cars from Auto Industry
by Jeff Gearhart and Charles Griffith
Columns
Great Lawns
A Great Lawn with No Toxic Chemicals, by Nancy Franklin
Great Lawns without Grass, by Bret Rappaport
Welfare for Waste
National Coalition Calls for End to Anti-Recycling Subsidies
Healthy Home and Garden
Growing Herbs in Your Backyard, by Mimi Mather
The Cranky Consumer
Toxic Waste "Recycling?" by Mary Beth Doyle
Capitol Watch
New from Lansing: PR for Toothless DEQ
At the Ecology Center
Reuben Chapman, Hospitals Pledge Mercury-Free, Help Wanted, Wish List
The Auto Industry's Greed is Destroying Michigan's Most Scenic Treasures
Editor's Note: This article is excerpted from Vanishing Lake Michigan Sand Dunes, a report by the Lake Michigan Federation, which was released in May. Tanya Cabala authored the report. It was written as part of the Ecology Center's Pollution Prevention in the Auto Industry Project.
Lake Michigan's sand dunes are a large part of the region's cultural and natural heritage. Their beauty draws millions of visitors each year. Dune and beach-related tourism, especially in the dune-rich eastern shore in Michigan, benefits local economies. Thousands of families each year experience the joy and wonder of the largest assemblage of freshwater sand dunes on earth. Despite this, the state with the highest number of dunes, Michigan, continues to lose dunes every day due to a heavily flawed state law.
In the 1970s, when the public realized that sand mining was responsible for the disappearance of 300-foot dunes that had once been important local landmarks, they called for legislation that would preserve the dunes. In 1989, after the law had failed to prevent mining in nearly 1,000 acres of the dunes that are highest and closest to the lake, a similar outcry led to further strengthening of the law. Since then, however, the public has been led to believe that the problem was solved.
But the problem is far from solved, and, in many respects, is growing more severe. In 1976, when Michigan's Sand Dune Protection and Management Act was passed, 15 active mining sites existed, totaling 3,228 acres. Currently 20 active sites exist, totaling 4,848 acres. Dunes continue to disappear at a rapid rate, with a total of 46.5 million tons of sand extracted since the law was passed. While the amount of sand being mined has fallen slightly over the years due to a decline in market demand, the level of mining is still significant. 46.5 million tons of sand would fill 2.3 million dump trucks, which would stretch for 11,449 miles, enough to circle Lake Michigan seven times.
Sand Dunes and the Auto Industry
During the rise of the Industrial Age in the early 1900s, industry found Lake Michigan dunes to be an ideal source of high quality sand. When cars like the Ford Model T were being mass marketed, there was suddenly a great demand for the sand to be used in castings to make metal car parts. Foundries that made the parts found the sand in Lake Michigan's dunes ideal --accessible, cheap to transport, and no legal barriers to its removal.
Sand is a pliable material, so a mold made with it can be easily detached from the part without damaging anything. The basic process involves pouring molten metal into a mold made of a sand and binder mixture. After pouring, the metal cools, the sand mold is broken up and the sand is removed from the solidified casting.
Ninety-five percent of sand mined from Lake Michigan dunes is used in foundries, and the remaining five percent is used for other commercial purposes, including glassmaking, concrete products, sandpaper and other abrasives, drywall, snow and ice control and for use in golf courses.
The Impact of Mining
Mining the dunes is not complicated. It is, however, permanently devastating to dune ecosystems. Forests are clear-cut. Bushes and grasses are pulled out. The sand is removed by bulldozers and trucks. Even sand below the ground is sometimes "sucked out" in a water/sand slurry and piped away. All the wildlife that once lived in the dunes leaves. What is left is nothing like the once towering dune systems. Former mining sites typically end up with small hills, flat areas and in some cases an artificial lake. Eventually grasses will grow, and maybe some cottonwood trees. The area might be developed into homes or condominiums. At several closed mining sites, the land has even been turned into golf courses and are now called Lost Dunes. Once mined, however, the spectacular dunes and their special habitats are gone forever, never to be recreated on earth again.
Even the companies that mine the sand admit that the impacts are severe: "This removal (of the sand) will eliminate the dunes themselves, essentially," wrote consultants for TechniSand, in the company's Environmental Impact Statement for the Nadeau Pit site. "The dunes and the mature forest on them will be gone. They cannot be replaced.. . . . The nature of the resulting environment will be different for hundreds of years."
Michigan's Sand Dune Management Act
In 1976, the state of Michigan passed the Sand Dune Protection and Management Act. After the Act was passed, many people were convinced that the freshwater dunes were finally going to be protected. Because of this, during the 1980s and 1990s, environmental groups and agencies focused on the harm done to dunes from building in them. Little attention was given to the mining issue since many members of the public and environmental groups believed the Act protected the dunes and that mining in the dunes was strictly limited and being phased out.
But two decades after passage of the original 1976 Act, it is clear that mining is still a major problem. Acre after acre of dunes is being lost to mining, dune dependent species are being put at risk, and the region's natural heritage squandered.
Permit renewals are a regular occurrence and routinely allow expansion into large areas of dunes. A review of the DEQ's sand dune mining operator data chart shows that the majority of companies have received five or more permit renewals. A number of the permits expire in 2000 and 2001, but many will likely be renewed becausing the mining companies hold huge parcels of dunes. Closed sites can also be reopened by the same or new mining companies and new mining sites can still be permitted in certain areas of the shoreline dunes. Closed sites in critical dune areas are not able to be reopened.
The 1976 Act required a comprehensive study and inventory of Great Lakes sand dunes in Michigan. Although the Act required the studies to assist the state in comprehensive dune planning, not all were completed, in particular, that which would detail the sand dune areas to be protected. Those studies that were finished were either ignored, such as several studies on possible sand substitutes for the foundries, or inconclusive, as the study on the economics of coastal dune mining. The DEQ's treatment of the studies points out how mining was to be continued rather than finding better ways to protect the lakeshore dunes.
Controversies over dune mining in the mid-1980s prompted then-Governor Blanchard to propose a ban on all mining of Lake Michigan dunes. As a compromise, the Act was amended in 1989 to restrict mining in certain dune areas (critical dunes), but no ban on sand mining in the dunes was enacted. Additional amendments were made to the Act after its original passage to change the length of permits from three to five years and to adjust the surveillance fee. None of these amendments changed the fact that the Act does nothing to discourage mining.
Dune sand removal requires a permit and oversight only if it exceeds 3,000 tons, and a permit is waived if the removal is necessary for protection of structures. Allowing up to 3,000 tons of sand to be mined without a permit is a large loophole in the Act. Three thousand tons can fill 150 truckloads of dune sand. Since there are no state mining permits required for amounts of sand mined from the dunes up to 3,000 tons, it is not possible to track or measure the damage to dunes.
In addition, areas just outside the designated dune areas are at risk from mining and are not included in the tonnage mined annually. For example, new permits from the local township have just been issued to Technisand, Inc. in Covert Township, Berrien County in an area bordering the designated dunes boundary. Technisand will be able to mine between 475,000 and 660,000 tons of sand at this site, just adjacent to the designated sand dune boundary. Both situations allow the mining of considerable dune sand, but without any regulation by the state.
Mining companies have moderate requirements under the Act. In order to obtain a permit, companies must submit environmental impact studies, progressive cell-unit mining and reclamation plans, and a 15-year mining plan. Companies also pay a bond and per-ton surveillance fees and file an annual report to the DEQ.
Currently the surveillance fee pays 100% of the costs of implementing the program. During a sand mining controversy regarding the Hart Packing Company in Oceana County, there was considerable public protest of this apparent conflict of interest. State politicians had strong words and vowed to change this part of the Act. "This is clearly a case of the fox guarding the chicken coop," said former State Representative Bill Bobier, R-Hesperia, who said he was seeking changes in the funding arrangement in a February 1993 Muskegon Chronicle article. In that same article, former State Senator Vern Ehlers remarked that the "setup tends to send the wrong signals out, and is an inducement to greater (sand) production." Unfortunately, the public furor did not result in changes in the way the mining program is funded.
Paper Tiger Defending the Dunes
Under the Act, the DEQ is able to suspend or revoke permits, but has never done so. At the request of the Attorney General, the DEQ may also seek a restraining order or injunction. Failure to comply with the Act or a permit is defined as a misdemeanor and fines are limited to $5,000. Although there have been several court settlements, no fines have been levied by the DEQ since the Act was passed.
Out of the thirty applications for permits in the years since the Act was passed, only one permit was denied. The denial was to the Hart Packing Company in Oceana County. In 1993, the DEQ was poised to grant a permit expansion into critical dunes to the company that had never had a permit from the state. At the public hearing on the permit, the West Michigan Environmental Action Council, Lake Michigan Federation, and local residents opposed the permit, pointing out that since the company had never obtained a permit, it could not legally expand into critical dunes. It was only after a ruling by the Attorney General's office that the DEQ was compelled to deny thepermit.
In at least one case, a permit was granted to a company that flagrantly disobeyed the law. In 1994, the Attorney General's office sued one company for continuing to mine in state park lands for almost a decade after its 30-year lease with the state had expired. Although the company had taken approximately 250,000 tons of sand illegally, which amounted to one million dollars, the DEQ granted the company a new permit.
The Economics of Dune Mining
Demand for foundry sand has decreased, but mining of sand continues at a steady rate. Dune sand mined on an annual basis has declined somewhat since the passage of the Act. The 1976 study on the economics of sand dune mining reported that active mining sites along the lakeshore had generated approximately 3.5 million tons of sand in 1976 compared to the amount mined currently, an average of 2.5 million tons annually.
The DEQ attributes the decline to passage of the Act, foundry officials cite restrictions on disposal of used foundry sand, but the U.S. Geological Service reports that nationwide production of silica sand decreased since 1979 due to less demand for foundry sand and glass. According to foundry officials, as the auto industry produced smaller vehicles, it required smaller parts and smaller molds, which require the finer sand grains left inland by glaciers, not lakeshore dune sands.
There is less demand for foundry sand and a smaller amount mined annually, but the dunes continue to be destroyed by mining. The largest use of dune sand ? for foundries ? is the cheapest. Sand dune mining companies justify mining in their environmental impact statements and routinely state that allowing them to mine sand from lakeshore dunes allows them to provide foundries with a low cost supply of sand. Prices for sand can vary depending upon its end use, the amount needed, type of packaging, and transportation costs.
A 1978 study required by the Act documented that dune sand sold for an average of $4.78 a ton in 1976. Available information shows that prices have remained low. University researchers on foundry operations have noted that the average price for foundry sand, dune or other types, in the Midwest is approximately $7 ton. In some cases, Lake Michigan dune sand can still be sold for as little as $4.50 a ton.
Compare this to quotes for sand from dunes and inland sources for use in sand blasting that sells for between $50 and $90 per ton. Masonry sand from the dunes sells for $18 to $20 per ton. The higher prices might reflect a narrower set of specifications necessary for this type of sand use. Because the primary use of dune sand is for foundries, Lake Michigan dunes are being destroyed for the cheapest use of its sand.
Automakers and Foundries Don't Need Dune Sand
There is much anecdotal information from mining companies and foundry officials on how necessary dune sand is to Michigan foundries, but little documented information on specifications for foundries and actual demand for the sand. A 1991 report on foundry wastes identified 127 operating foundries in Michigan. Sand suppliers for those foundries responded to a survey for the report and reported that they mined 2.7 million tons of sand annually. (According to the DEQ, the total amount of sand mined in 1991 was about 1.7 million tons, so the additional million tons must have been from other sand sources.)
Of the 2.7 million tons, 22% or 583,000 tons went to Michigan foundries, 63% or 1,700,000 went to non-Michigan foundries and 15 % or 414, 000 tons to other industrial uses. The information from this study suggests that the majority of sand, including from dunes, is exported and not used by Michigan foundries. Lower transportation costs cannot be used to justify continued mining, nor can support for Michigan foundry jobs.
And not all auto companies use dune sand. According to Mr. Robert C. Graham, former vice-president of Ford Motor Company's Automotive Component Group (which included the casting division), Ford Motor Company does not use dune sand in any of its foundry operations and has used inland sand for many years. Mr. Graham worked for Ford during the 1970s and 1980s when sand dune protection was a hotly contested issue. Because of his environmental interests, he viewed sand mining sites in southwest Michigan and discussed with the Department of Natural Resources the foundry industry's position that only dune sand could be used for casting operations, and that prohibition of dune mining would shut down the foundry industry in Michigan. Ford offered to testify in pending litigation taking issue with this position, but was never requested to appear.
A number of years earlier, Ford's casting operations had converted to inland sand. The different sand characteristics required foundry processing changes, but after some experimentation, Ford found that inland sand could be used successfully without significant cost penalty, producing large and small castings of comparable quality to those produced with dune sand. Mr. Graham confirmed for this report that Ford has made no change in its use of inland sand for casting molds and would not consider going back to using dune sand.
Further, the foundry industry in other states do not rely on dune sand. Dr. Karl Rundman, one of the authors of the 1991 report on foundry wastes, stated that foundries in Wisconsin primarily use inland sand. It is clear that industry leaders understand that foundries do not need dune sand and that viable alternatives exist.
A 1978 study by Michigan Technological University researchers found the availability of large sources of glacial outwash sand, and was generally positive about the uses of alternatives to dune sand. But the study was effectively ignored. Was it simply because Lake Michigan dune sand was (and still is) available and cheap, and there was no widespread public opposition to mining? It appears so, especially since according to Ezra Kotzin of the American Foundrymen's Society, "We (the foundries) are not stupid enough to spend the money to continue trying alternatives when dune sand is available."
Editor's postscript: Since publication of this report, DEQ Director Harding issued a press release defending both the Department's actions and the mining of dunes. Despite the fact that Ford and others have shown that alternatives are available, Harding continues to assert that "dune sand is uniquely suited" for casting metal parts. In fact, though, the auto and foundry industries have been slow to adopt new technologies because Harding has protected access to cheap sand instead of protecting Michigan's truly unique resource, its sand dunes. The DEQ press release and a full point by point rebuttal by the Preserve the Dunes activist organization are available at http://www.daac.com/sosdunes/. Preserve the Dunes is also continuing a lawsuit alleging that the MDEQ, without legal authority, amended a permit to expand sand dune mining into a Critical Dune Area at the "Nadeau Site" in Hagar Township of Berrien County.
Tanya Cabala is the Michigan Director of the Lake Michigan Federation, an organization of volunteers and professionals working to restore Lake Michigan, the waters that into it, and its shoreline. The report, Vanishing Lake Michigan Sand Dunes, can be obtained by calling (616)722-5116.
Turning Pigeon Hill into a Molehill
Pigeon Hill was one of the largest sand dunes on Lake Michigan. Two hundred to three hundred feet in height, it dwarfed the surrounding landscape. It covered some 40 acres at its base. Its shifting sand created new configurations each year. Before Muskegon's fur trade, lumber, and fishing days, it sheltered and protected the Ottawa Indians living at its base. In the 1800s, millions of the now defunct Passenger Pigeons rested on its peak as they made their yearly north-south pilgrimage. In the 1870s, many citizens of what was then Bluffton, Michigan, made their living by catching pigeons and selling them. Squab or young pigeon meat was in demand in new York. Pigeons were trapped in barrels and shipped east in boxcars. By 1882 the pigeons were gone.
Early in the 1900s, D.D. Erwin, owner of Pigeon Hill, offered to sell the land to the city of Muskegon. At the time, city officials were not interested, and after Erwin's death, Nugent Sand Company and the Pere Marquette Railroad bought the land. In 1936, Sand Products Company began mining the sand. In 1944, the city of Muskegon sold 96 acres of land to Sand Products who added them to their existing 74 acres.
By the middle sixties, only a hole remained. Pigeon Hill is now just a warm memory of pigeons, family day trips and many other fond recollections. In time, the memories also fade - but they might have been replenished over and over, if the hill had not disappeared.
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