Environmental remediation and park closures 

Clean-up efforts at Bend Area Open Space began on April 13 following an oil release earlier in the week (background information can be found below). Ottawa County Parks & Recreation requests that park visitors avoid the area until remediation has occurred. This map shows the areas impacted and those that will be closed. Clean-up efforts are expected to take several weeks. 

“We are grateful for the quick action by both the Ottawa County Department of Emergency Management and EGLE to assess the impact of the oil release and hire a contractor to begin clean-up,” said Ottawa County Parks & Recreation Director, Jason Shamblin. “We are also so incredibly thankful that the park visitor who noticed the oil sheen alerted us to the issue."

While Ottawa County Parks & Recreation owns the property, private gas and oil companies own the oil rights in the area and operate over a dozen wells under the regulatory authority of the State of Michigan. There are also several wells that have been plugged and no longer in use on park property.

Updates on clean-up efforts will be posted online: 

• https://miottawa.org/Parks/bendarea.htm 
• https://www.facebook.com/OttawaCountyParks 

Background Information 

On April 10, the Ottawa County Parks Commission received information from a concerned kayaker that an undetermined amount of suspected oil was observed on the water and shoreline of a lake in the Bend Area Open Space Park, just west of the north end of 12th Ave., north of Taylor St., in Georgetown Twp.  Approximately 300 yards of lake shoreline was impacted, and UAV flights show the absence of continued release. At this time, it does not appear to be impacting any other waterways or shorelines.   

On April 12, Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE)’s Remediation and Redevelopment Division secured Taplin as the clean-up contractor and work began immediately. EGLE’s Oil, Gas and Minerals Division is investigating potential historic sources such as oil wells that are in the immediate area, to stop any future release from occurring.