White Lake Area Moves from ‘Toxic Hot Spot’ to Community Success Story

A reporting project by  The Detroit News looks at what could be a rare occurrence – delisting of the White Lake area as an “Area of Enviornmental Concern,” a designation given to highly contaminated areas.

Reporter Jim Lynch and photographer Elizabeth Conley spent three years documenting the stories of local officials and residents as they worked to remediate environmental contamination in the resort area, which includes the towns of Whitehall and Montague, and was added to the list in 1985.

Fourteen sites have been tagged as an Area of Concern. Deer Lake on Michigan’s Upper Peninsula could also be removed this year.

Tanya Cabala, who has been involved in the cleanup effort for many years, said removal from the list will start a new chapter for the area.

“We will be able to begin to change our image – from a ‘toxic hotspot’ to a success story of a community that restored its lake and cares for an values its natural assets,” she told The Detroit News.“We will also be able to look to the future and focus our resources and efforts on environmental stewardship and sustainability, rather than cleanup of pollution from decades past.”

» Go to The Detroit News to read the full report.