To Stem the Flood
As of June, FEMA’s latest visit concluded, and they will now make a report to the state. According to Emergency Management Division Coordinator Chris VanArsedale, we now wait and see what happens.
Photo of flooded private land in Pelkie, submitted to the Flood Photo Submission Tool. Photo courtesy of Steve Irwin.
This year, flood emergencies once again swept the UP, prompting emergency management divisions across the peninsula to request federal assistance through programs like FEMA. There are two types of assistance to be applied for: public assistance (infrastructure, roads, municipalities, etc.) and individual assistance (privately owned properties and houses). Funds are then given back to the local emergency departments in a reimbursement process.
As of June, FEMA’s latest visit concluded, and they will now make a report to the state. According to Emergency Management Division Coordinator Chris VanArsedale, we now wait and see what happens.
Preventing Flood Emergencies: The Quest for a County Drain
In April, abandoned railway grades in Lake Linden blocked a water drain, causing it to become waterlogged and burst, resulting in a flood emergency. Situations like this prompt questions about who maintains these culverts.
“We still are very interested from the county’s perspective in pursuing County Drains within a lot of these municipalities. In the long term, we think it will be the best way to manage them,” says VanArsedale.
The Houghton County Emergency Division is working with the county board of commissioners to figure out how to get municipalities and people on board to have an established community drain. An established community drain would then be eligible for grants. It would give communities, in the long term, better overall preparedness.
“Right now, they are segmented. Part of the system might belong to the township, or the village, or the landowner. Even if they are maintaining their drains, are they coordinating together? If someone is putting in a 20-inch culvert, but someone [downriver] isn’t, that could cause problems. We want one continuous drain system to where it can be engineered to be coordinated,” says VanArsedale. “I think that’s a big step in the right direction.”
A county drain would make it so that the county assumes responsibility for the maintenance of a system of drains, rather than the individual municipalities or the landowners.
The catch is that a county drain has to be petitioned into existence by a group of at least 10 people that are within the drain district. Those people can petition their local township or city or village board. Then, the municipality can petition the county board of commissioners.
For example, Dollar Bay residents would petition the Osceola Township, who can then petition the Houghton County Board.
Farm equipment barely escaped the flooding in April. Photo courtesy of Steve Irwin.
There are 36 drains within the M-26 corridor alone, with the main area of concern in the stretch between Lake Linden and Dollar Bay. Other potentially hazardous areas include the drainage in between South Range and Painesdale, which threatens the ATV trail. The drains near Chassell all the way up to Ripley all have potential for damage, too.
“How much money it would cost is a concern,” said VanArsedale. “On the flipside, how much damage would it cost in the end? Are we paying more money by responding to it?”
Rural Hazard Resilience Project Hones in on Flood Preparedness
In the face of unpredictable natural disasters and the growing need for community preparedness, the Rural Hazard Resilience Project is empowering rural areas to overcome the challenges posed by flooding and secure a more resilient future for Michigan’s Upper Peninsula.
According to Evan Lanese, GIS/Planning Technician, the project is a collaboration between WUPPDR, Michigan Tech, and the University of Washington and involves the development of three main tools; the GIS visualization tool, a photo submission tool, and Google Earth engine.
GIS Visualization Tool
The GIS Visualization Tool is a map where you can toggle on and off different layers: transportation layers (roads and trails), critical infrastructure layers (schools and hospitalization), and other important things that an emergency manager would need to know to evaluate flood procedures. The map shows where flooding is most likely to happen.
“Let’s say there’s a nursing home that needs to be evacuated,” said Lanese. “They could use the tool to find the best route, say ‘Oh, this road is flooded or washed out, so we’ll have to go this other route,’ and adjust the time accordingly.”
Lanese does outreach, social media and web design for the project, but most importantly collects map data from other townships to create a more accurate map. Some landowners don’t want their map data to be public, and sometimes the follow-up between townships and Lanese takes months.
According to Lanese, collecting data for the map is a full-time job. The good news is that they’re comparing it with modeling systems collected by FEMA, and they’re matching up pretty well.
Flood Photo Submission Tool
You can help contribute to the effort by using the Flood Photo Submission Tool. The team is trying to get community members to take pictures of the flooding and tag the location to upload to our database. The tool then checks to see if what is pictured matches our flood models using real life data.
Submitting flood photos with tagged locations lets the Rural Hazard Resilience team double-check their data against real-world situations. Photo courtesy of Steve Irwin.
Google Earth Engine
The third tool is the Google Earth Engine, which allows you to select a certain area and choose a return period for flooding, like 25-year-flood versus a 500-year-flood, and gives you a flood hazard risk assessment. The assessment includes how many buildings might flood, how many people might be affected, how much farmland will be affected. The tools are all publicly accessible and can be used by the community to assess flood hazard risks.
The goal of the project is to offer this model at low cost to rural areas, making flood hazard mitigation accessible for counties that may not have the budget. Lanese hopes to see the models they develop expand to the entire UP.
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Houghton Taco Bell closed due to high carbon monoxide levels
Though staff remained at work to do deep cleaning, a Taco Bell employee said that they couldn’t run their food equipment due to the risk.
The Taco Bell on Razorback Drive in Houghton closed to the public on Friday, June 16, due to high carbon monoxide levels detected.
Though staff remained at work to do deep cleaning, a Taco Bell employee said that they couldn’t run their food equipment due to the risk.
According to the neighboring business, the restaurant’s CO alarm was activated and employees were evacuated until they got the go-ahead to return to the store by the fire department.
The fire department could not be reached Friday for comment.
Other employees estimate the store will reopen by tomorrow.
The Taco Bell manager on duty declined to comment.
According to the EPA, carbon monoxide exposure could lead to effects from fatigue and chest pain to impaired vision and even death. Sources could include unvented kerosene and gas space heaters, furnaces or stove leaks, or incomplete oxidation during combustion in gas ranges, and unvented gas or kerosene heaters.
Around 12:30 p.m., AirCare of Houghton visited the restaurant. A representative from AirCare said they haven’t found the cause of the carbon monoxide levels and declined further comment.
Editor’s Note: This story has been edited to reflect the correct chemical formula for carbon monoxide.
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Residents wanting solar panels face stumbling blocks
They include state distributed-generation regulations, net metering caps set by electric utilities and local zoning ordinances regulating installation of solar panels.
Editor’s Note: This story has been corrected. We previously wrote that Hancock’s new solar and wind ordinance entirely prohibits industrial solar, but that isn’t the case. It restricts industrial solar to I-1 industrial districts and requires permits. We apologize for the confusion.
Renewable energy advocates say that homeowners can save money on electricity by installing solar panels, but there are stumbling blocks to using solar panels in the Keweenaw area. They include state distributed-generation regulations, net metering caps set by electric utilities and local zoning ordinances regulating installation of solar panels.
Net metering is an electricity billing tool that uses the electric grid to “store” excess energy produced by an individual’s solar panel system. Under net metering, the value of the energy produced by solar panels that a homeowner doesn’t use is credited back to their electric bill.
Net metering was designed to encourage the adoption of solar energy. The system was pioneered in the United States as a way to help use solar and wind to provide electricity. It enables customers who generate their own power to receive credit for the electricity they contribute to the grid.
A report by the Michigan State University Extension Service calls net metering “the gold standard” for solar billing in the U.S. According to the report, it was one of the main reasons the number of solar installations in Michigan quintupled between 2011 and 2018.
In 2018, Michigan’s Public Service Commission replaced net metering with a distributed generation program. Using distributed generation, electric utilities can credit less to residents who send their excess solar energy to the grid.
The Upper Peninsula Power Company (UPPCO), Detroit Energy (DTE), Consumers Energy and some other electric utilities and co-ops in Michigan are using the distributed generation program.
Solar Caps
State law does not prevent electric companies from setting caps on the amount of solar energy generation eligible for credit,
UPPCO, which serves the Keweenaw peninsula, recently raised its cap to 3.5%. That means that the most a customer with solar panels can contribute to the grid for credit is 3.5% of peak demand or load and capacity.
Peak demand is the highest amount of electricity demand within a particular period of time. Load is the total electrical power being removed by the users of the grid. Capacity is the maximum output an electricity generator can physically produce, measured in megawatts.
There’s a thornier problem facing homeowners who want to install solar panels in our area. They say they have been told that the cap has been met in the UP as a region, so no more solar panel installations are eligible for the credit.
UPPCO spokesperson Brett French says that is not true.
“We have not reached the cap, and we are accepting applications,” he said in a phone interview.
Dr. Elizabeth Benyi
Dr. Elizabeth Benyi, who lives near Calumet, talked to her neighbors and got a few of them interested in installing solar panels.
“But again, when it came to permitting, they were denied because of the cap on solar,” she says.
An osteopathic physician and surgeon, Benyi lived in L’Anse for 10 years before she moved to Calumet. She wanted to get solar panels installed on her house in L’Anse. She says Blue Earth Solar tried to get permits for the installation but were refused. They were told that the solar cap had been met in the UP, so no more solar projects that tied into the power grid were allowed.
Pending Legislation
Benyi has been working for two years to help get legislation passed to get rid of the solar cap. First introduced in 2021 by Greg Markkanen, state representative for the legislative district that includes the Keweenaw, it would have eliminated the solar cap.
“But to no avail,” Benyi said.
New bills recently introduced by both Representative Markkanen and State Senator Ed McBroom, who also represents the Keweenaw, would remove the cap on solar energy credits.
Michigan State Rep. Greg Markkanen at a town hall event in Ontonagon. Photo by Joshua Vissers.
“I am very passionate about this issue,” said Markkanen in a phone interview. “We need to lift the cap and give people a choice. Many states near Michigan don’t have a cap.”
McBroom agrees.
“The system that we have in this state is rigged against controlling costs for individual consumers,” he said in a phone interview. “That’s unfair. The system isn’t working to the benefit of the people. Our high electric bills are stifling our economy.”
“The cap does discourage people from installing solar,” says Allan Baker, who has installed solar panels on the sides of the apartment building he owns in Houghton.
Senator McBroom has introduced two bills in the Michigan Senate. One would remove the solar cap. The other would bring back net metering and make it easier to establish community solar systems.
“Small-scale, local solar projects will be particularly useful to residents, providing an opportunity to independently produce energy for themselves and their neighbors, and providing savings on energy bills for those who subscribe,” the senator said.
According to the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, Michigan currently does not have enabling legislation for community solar, so community solar programs in Michigan must be developed and managed through a local electric utility.
Escanaba and L’Anse have both established community solar systems. Those municipalities are served by their own, local electric utilities, not by UPPCO, Senator McBroom pointed out. L'Anse is served by L'Anse, Michigan Electric Utility, a municipally-owned organization. The City of Escanaba owns its own electric utility.
The senator thinks the legislation removing the cap and enabling community solar will pass. He’s less confident about bringing back net metering.
“The big utilities like UPPCO have powerful lobbies,” he explained.
Zoning Issues
As if caps on solar weren’t enough of a roadblock, there are zoning ordinances that severely regulate installation of solar panels.
The Michigan Zoning Enabling Act requires all zoning to be based on a master plan. The master plan therefore establishes the community’s formal policy position on solar energy development. Roof-mounted solar panels are allowed in most zoning jurisdictions in Michigan, according to an MSU Extension Service report.
The City of Hancock just passed a zoning ordinance regulating the development and use of solar and wind energy. The ordinance permits private, residential solar but limits “industrial” solar – systems designed for sale of power generated to off-site consumers – to the I-1 industrial district. This includes solar farms or gardens, which are community systems.
Calumet and Stanton Township have no zoning ordinances prohibiting solar panels, although Stanton Township Supervisor Marty Rajala said, “My personal opinion, not the township’s, is that anyone dumb enough to place a solar panel in our area, where the sun shines 15% of the year, should be allowed to throw their own money away and not be subsidized by the government.”
Houghton permits solar panels, subject to the city’s zoning ordinance, according to City Manager Eric Waara.
Adams, Franklin, Portage and Chassell Townships did not respond to questions about zoning ordinances regulating solar panels.
All About Money
What’s causing the ongoing conflict that has the solar industry and environmentalists on one side and utility companies and local zoning boards on the other?
It seems to be all about money.
“The cap has always been an artificial construct given to the utilities to help them make more money,” says Senator McBroom.
“UPPCO doesn’t have the best interests of the people at heart,” Representative Markkanen remarked. “It is a private, for-profit company with its eye on the bottom line and making money for its shareholders.”
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Small Pride event makes big waves
An estimated 300 people attended the Copper Country's first ever Pride event on June 3, featuring live music from local artists and a potluck.
The Ranger III passes Houghton Pride at Houghton Waterfront Park. Keweenaw Roller Derby (foreground) hosts their table and meets with interested locals. Photo by Juxta Sprague.
An estimated 300 people attended the Copper Country's first ever Pride event on June 3, featuring live music from local artists and a potluck. A dozen community groups lent tables, stickers, snacks, and even face-paint to help make Houghton Pride a success.
The afternoon started out with volunteers setting up tents as Houghton Pride's core organizers hung decorations and prepared tables, disposable dishes, and food labels for the potluck. The small venue was soon brimming with music, colors, and conversation as locals streamed into the park, many bringing food to contribute. At one point, snow cones were being distributed, and later a cotton candy machine made an appearance.
Evan Lanese, member of Bees! Bees! Bees! Bees!, sings at Houghton Pride. Photo by Juxta Sprague.
The atmosphere was decidedly festive, with many dressed in bright colors to express their LGBTQIA+ identities or support thereof. Striped socks, glittery shoes, patterned dresses, dyed hair, plaid pants, and flamboyant shirts were common sights. Attendance skewed younger, with many high-school and college aged, but infants to senior citizens were all represented.
Several local music groups performed at Pride and were paid out of a successful crowdfunding effort coordinated by Keweenaw Queers, the lead organization for the event. The band Bees! Bees! Bees! Bees! kicked off the event with their four-person group jamming out to cheers and applause.
Event organizer Riley Powers (left) speaks with a community member. Photo by Juxta Sprague
Many of the supporting groups hosted tables, including the Copper Country Community Arts Center (CCCAC), Dial Help, and Keweenaw Roller Derby. Two local faith groups also attended; Canterbury House and the Keweenaw Unitarian Universalists (KUUF). Various politically progressive organizations were also present including Michigan United, Equality Michigan, and The Red Nation. The Houghton County Democrats also were in attendance with a life-size cardboard cutout of President Joe Biden.
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