The legal battle over pumping wastewater from Bay Harbor near Petoskey into the ground under Antrim County has been put on hold.
Plans to drill a deep-injection disposal well in Star Township, near Alba, have been put on indefinite hold by a circuit court judge.
The parties involved in a lawsuit over the well have agreed to form a task force to consider other options for Bay Harbor's tainted groundwater.
Opponents of the well, like John Richter, president of Friends of the Jordan River, said it could have contaminated the Jordan River Watershed.
"It's a victory for science, it's a triumph for social justice and just plain common sense," said Richter. "I'm very optimistic that this could be a new beginning, and, you know, our position all along has been to facilitate a proper cleanup at Bay Harbor, without contaminating other sites in northern Michigan."
At this point, the disposal well hasn't been completely ruled out - but no work can commence under the judge's recent order.
The taskforce has scheduled a public meeting for August 29 in Petoskey.
Plans to drill a deep-injection disposal well in Star Township, near Alba, have been put on indefinite hold by a circuit court judge.
The parties involved in a lawsuit over the well have agreed to form a task force to consider other options for Bay Harbor's tainted groundwater.
Opponents of the well, like John Richter, president of Friends of the Jordan River, said it could have contaminated the Jordan River Watershed.
"It's a victory for science, it's a triumph for social justice and just plain common sense," said Richter. "I'm very optimistic that this could be a new beginning, and, you know, our position all along has been to facilitate a proper cleanup at Bay Harbor, without contaminating other sites in northern Michigan."
At this point, the disposal well hasn't been completely ruled out - but no work can commence under the judge's recent order.
The taskforce has scheduled a public meeting for August 29 in Petoskey.
