MONTAGUE — With summer on the horizon, the Montague Township Board heard presentations regarding the environmental protection of White Lake and its waterways, as well as considerations of improvements to township parks.
Jim DeBoer, chief science officer of the White Lake Association, spoke on White Lake’s very own smart buoy, which just launched its second year of operation May 9. The smart buoy, purchased with the aid of a $40,000 grant from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), monitors a variety of environmental data from the lake and transmits the data in-real time every 10 minutes.
In its first year of operation, the buoy, located east of Long Point, monitored water quality, air and water temperatures, and wind speed. Now in 2026, with help of another grant of $7,000 from EGLE, the buoy has been upgraded to additionally monitor the water’s conductivity and turbidity. Also new this year is the capability for the public to access the buoy’s data through an online portal.
Education was just the first part of DeBoer’s presentation, as he also asked, on behalf of the White Lake Association, for Montague Township to consider contributing funds for the continued operation of the buoy. In 2025, the cities of Whitehall and Montague were asked to contribute to the buoy’s launch, and after its successful debut, they are again requesting donations from those municipalities, as well as other White Lake area townships. White Lake Association is seeking, at minimum, $2,500 in total local support, with funds to go towards the costs of launch and upkeep of the buoy, as well as hosting for the online portal.
DeBoer and the WLA hope that the lake’s cities and townships will continue to donate year after year.
Said DeBoer, “The lake is going to be here forever. We’re going to have this need to collect this [data]... so it would be really nice to establish a reoccurring funding.”
Following DeBoer, Claire Schlaff of the Chemours Environmental Impact Committee (CEIC) spoke on updates from DuPont’s Chemours property on their area corrective measures study report, which details the company’s cleanup plans for 14 landfills at the site, a notable source of pollution in nearby waterways. CEIC, a community advisory group overseeing the cleanup, reviewed Chemours' cleanup proposal and is asking for greater efforts to consolidate the landfills to prevent further contamination, as exemplified in Hooker Chemical’s cleanup efforts. CEIC also requested a public hearing, which will take place June 11 at NBC Middle School, where the organization will provide a response to Chemours on their corrective study. EGLE will also attend.
Schlaff and CEIC shared information with the board on the history of the Chemours property, its pollution of the Montague area and the company’s past lackluster response to contamination, encouraging elected officials and local residents to attend the public hearing. Schlaff acknowledged that the measures Chemours currently has in place are enough to keep the public safe,
“I don’t want to imply that people are not safe, but it would be good to get it cleaned up once and for all,” Schlaff said. CEIC is also asking interested community members to attend presentations May 20 and 30 at the White Lake Community Library to provide CEIC with feedback prior to the public hearing.
Also discussed were future improvements to Montague Township Park, including options for fence replacement, tree removal, and playground equipment. The board also approved a quote for $1,060 for further treatment to rid Henderson Lake of the invasive phragmites reed, which has already seen considerable past improvements to the area. Bob Muzio of the Montague Township Planning Commission also dropped in to present the board with a final draft for the township’s proposed data center development ordinance, requesting the board provide their feedback prior to a public hearing, the date of which is still to be determined.
