LANSING – A twice-sunken Lake Michigan barge that raised environmental concerns has now been relocated to a legal location, announced Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. The barge’s owner, Donald Lewis Balcom, 90, of Traverse City, pled guilty last April in the 13th Circuit Court in Leelanau County to one count of Water Resources Protection Violation for Discharge of Injurious Substances to Waters of the State, a two-year felony. The charge stemmed from a November of 2020 incident, when the barge sank and released oil into Lake Michigan. 

Under a deferred sentencing agreement, Balcom was given until June 27, 2025, to relocate the barge to a legal location, which would convert his felony conviction to one count of Watercraft Pollution – Littering from Vessel, a 92-day misdemeanor. On Monday, June 23, 2025, the barge was moved to a legal location in West Grand Traverse Bay. Over the past week, the barge has been partially dismantled and is no longer on state-owned Lake Michigan bottomlands. 

“After years of environmental concerns and legal proceedings, I am pleased the barge has finally been moved and to announce the resolution of this case,” Nessel said. “We have made it abundantly clear that the bay cannot be treated as a personal junkyard.  My department remains committed to working with the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to protect the Great Lakes whenever they come under threat.” 

In 2023, the Attorney General issued seven criminal charges against Balcom following years of efforts by the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy to work with Balcom toward a resolution of the issue of the sunken industrial barge and contamination of Grand Traverse Bay on the northwestern coast of Michigan’s Lower Peninsula. The barge was moved to a legal location, entitling Balcom to the reduced sentence. The Court has yet to issue an amended judgment of sentence.