Walling Off Water?

From staff reports

Storm Hill lakefront property owners just south of Empire’s public beach are paying the price for record-high Lake Michigan water levels. The association has applied for permits from the Michigan Department of the Environment, Great Lakes & Energy and from the federal Army Corps of Engineers to build steel and rock “riprap” walls to prevent bluff erosion and keep out the water. One homeowner has already secured permits to build a wall. If approved, the project would dramatically reshape the beachscape between the Empire Village beach and Empire Bluffs in the Sleeping Bear Dunes National Lakeshore.

The Empire Village Council is expected to vote tonight at its 7 pm regular meeting on whether to allow the Storm Hill lakefront property owners to use Niagara Street to bring in heavy equipment, steel and rocks—if the association secures permits from the state and federal government. Click here to watch the Village Council meeting remotely.