The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy is asking Great Lakes shoreline property owners who have installed sandbags to protect their property from erosion to now remove those bags. Spokesperson Hugh McDiarmid tells us many property owners took steps in 2020 to protect their assets.
“Houses fell into the lakes, especially Lakes Michigan and Huron,” McDiarmid said. “Structures were washed away, people lost their docks. So, we expedited our permitting process to get shoreline structure permits out faster…and we also issued about 450 statewide temporary permits to allow sandbags to be installed as a protective measure.”
However, with the exception of Lake Superior, McDiarmid says the lake levels have since gone back down enough for the bags to be removed. EGLE is sending out letters to permit recipients asking them to remove the bags if they haven’t already. That’s because the bags can break down over time, resulting in microplastics getting into the lakes and beaches.
