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No. 20
NEWS YOU CAN USE, NEWS YOU CAN TRUST
75¢
May 17 - 23, 2012
w w w . a s s o c i a t e d n e w s p a p e r s . n e t
TheWayne Farmers Market
opened yesterday and will
continue with regular hours
from3-7 p.m. everyWednesday
throughOct. 24.
See page 5.
The late Lillian Patrias,
whose love of reading made a
difference to the community,
will be remembered Saturday
at theRomulus PublicLibrary
See page 4.
With an all-time high num-
ber of entries, the Plymouth
Noon Rotary Club recently
selectedwinners in the annual
Four-WayTest essay contest.
See page 3.
Scout Brownie Troop 40709,
of Our Lady of Victory Catholic
School in Northville, recently
completed the newest Girl
Scout Religious Award , "My
Promise, MyFaith."
See page 3.
Memorial Day in Belleville
will be celebrated with the 8th
annual Thunder Rolls event
on May 28. Motorcycle riders
will register at 11 a.m. at
Wayne County Community
College.
See page 2.
Vol. 127, No. 20
Vol. 65, No. 20
Vol. 65, No. 20
Vol. 12, No. 20
Vol. 12, No. 20
Vol. 127, No. 20
Vol. 65, No. 20
Vol. 65, No. 20
Women in Inkster will have
a unique opportunity to learn
about their health and ways to
improve their lives tomorrow
andSaturday at theYWCA.
See page 2.
For home delivery of The Eagle call 734-467-1900.
Deputy Chief Michael
Matich, Lt. Thaddeus Nelson
and Sgt. Mark Mills were
recently promoted to their
new ranks in the Westland
PoliceDepartment.
See page 5.
City of Romulus officials say error-filled fed-
eral floodplain maps are creating extra
expense and headaches for hundreds of resi-
dents.
A town hall meeting last night was the latest
step by Romulus officials on behalf of city resi-
dentswho are being notifiedby lending institu-
tions that their property is located in a flood-
plain and they must now purchase costly flood
insurance.
Officials suggested that representatives
from the Federal Emergency Management
Agency and explain the Flood Insurance Rate
Maps (FIRMs) that were created apparently
based on old and approximated information,
by the agency. City officials said that detailed
information regarding the floodways did not
exist and the new maps indicate nearly 1,000
residential and commercial parcels in the city
are affectedby floodplainhazards.
Romulus Building and Safety Director
Robert McCraight said the city hired an inde-
pendent hydraulic engineer to perform an
extensive study that confirmed nearly half of
the parcels of property in question did not
appear to be in a floodplain.
The hydraulic study was commissioned by
the city to protect residents, businesses and
the city, officials said. FEMA has accepted the
detailed hydraulic study submitted but
because the changes affected so many of the
map panels, FEMA has not incorporated the
new information into the FIRMs as yet. FEMA
is reviewing the information prior to its imple-
mentation, a city spokespersonnoted.
A special flood hazard area or floodplain is
a high-risk area of land that has a 1-percent
chance of being inundated by a flood in any
given year. The risk of flooding varies frompar-
cel to parcel, depending on elevation.
McCraight said FEMA's outdated maps are a
nationwide issue.
The Romulus areas in question are the
North Branch Ecorse Creek Drain in the
northeast section of the city, the Hale Creek
andCarterDrain in the southeast corner of the
city and the McClaughrey Drain at Hannan
andEcorseRoads.
In addition to hiring the hydraulic engineer
to perform a detailed study, city officials have
met with hundreds of residents facing the
expensive flood insurance requirement.
The city is in the enrollment process in the
National Flood Insurance Program (NFIP). If
a community is involved in theNFIP, residents
can purchase state-regulated flood insurance
at a discounted rate. McCraight said most
insurance companies cannot write flood insur-
ance policies unless a community is amember
of the program.
“The city recognizes inaccuracies in the
FEMA floodplain maps are creating signifi-
cant hardships for residents,” said Economic
Development Director Timothy Keyes. “We're
doing everythingwe can to help them.”
“This program is being forced on Romulus
residents who have never had an issue with
flooding,” McCraight said. “We want to put our
residents in contact with those who can
answer their questions and advise them, so
they can determine their best course of action.
Each property owner will have different cir-
cumstances and they will have to devise their
own strategy in dealing with FEMA's new
FIRMs.”
Pheasant Run Golf Club
will host the Michigan Publinx
Medal Play tournament next
week, one of the premier ama-
teur golf events inMichigan.
See page 2.
We want to put our residents
in contact with those who can
answer their questions and advise
them, so they can determine their
best course of action.
”
Flood plain maps prompt protests
Up the river
Project will remove
100-year-old dam
from Rouge waters
It's about ‘dam’ time.
It's been 14 years since the conclusive
report from the Michigan Department of
Natural Resources determined that the
Wayne Dam was having a major impact on
communities like Northville, Canton,
Plymouth, Wayne, Westland, Inkster
Dearborn Heights and Dearborn. Nearly
every community through which the Rouge
flows is impacted by the impediment the dam
presents to species of fish attempting to
reach theDetroit River andLakeErie.
Since that report, members of the Alliance
for Rouge Communities have been trying to
remove the Wayne Dam and, last year, the
first portion of a $1 million grant from the
National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration allowed an engineering study
to determine the severity of the impact and
the species of fish involved. Last month, four
experts spent two full days wading through
knee deep water and debris near the Wayne
Dam, nearly in front of Wayne City Hall
under the Wayne Road underpass. They
found small and largemouth bass, Northern
pike, suckers, darters and steelhead trout, all
being kept fromtraveling down theRouge.
According to Gary Crawford a fisheries
biologist with Environmental Consulting and
Technology in Ann Arbor, the impact of the
Wayne Dam on the ecology is more than sig-
nificant. Removing the 100-year old structure
will impact more than 17 miles of the Rouge
River and strongly change the environment
in communities throughout the area.
He said that there had already been a pre-
bid meeting with potential contractors and
the actual work couldbegin on the removal of
the structure within a few weeks. Crawford
explained that there is a great deal more to
do than simply rip out the bridge.
“We have to ensure that the stream is sta-
ble. We have to have grade control and step
down the grade so it is suitable for these type
of fish passages,” he said. Workers will be on
both sides of the stream on the banks
beneathWayneRoadwhen thework begins.
“I don't believe we have any lane closures
planned,” he said of Wayne Road, indicating
that the work should not interfere with traf-
fic.
Workers will also remove accumulated
brush and debris to ensure a smooth flow for
the various species that will be affected by
the change in the river. Crews will return for
both pre- and post- construction monitoring
surveys, Chapman said, to ensure the flow
and grade is correct and to remove other
debris thatmay accumulate.
“There are now and will be species there
that people wouldn't normally see,”
Chapman said.
“This is going to allow local and migratory
fish to the lower Rouge River and then
access to the Detroit River. From there, they
canmigrate to Lake Erie. Some will move up
and down, others will spawn and move with-
in the stream,” he said.
The project also includes an instream
island downstream of the dam and will
reconstruct amore stable single flow channel
with benches along the bank, install an engi-
neered boulder cascade to protect the exist-
ing infrastructure and provide for bank stabi-
lization.
This will be the first time in more than a
century, since the damwas initially construct-
ed to provide a water supply and aid fire-
fighting efforts, that the flow to the Detroit
Riverwill beunimpeded.
The Rouge watershed is the most densely
populated and most polluted in the state,
according to reports from the Department of
Natural Resources. In 1998, the agency said
the lower Rouge River had the worst water
quality of any of the branches. It remains,
however, the only direct connection to the
Great Lakes.
According to Sally Petrella of the Friends
of the Rouge, a group that conducts monitor-
ing of the river, organizes cleaning of the
waterway and banks and is responsible for
much of the improvement already complet-
ed, this will be a great benefit for the entire
area. Petrella said it will definitely improve
fishing throughout the system and will be a
boon for canoeing and kayaking along the
river.
The total cost of the project is estimated at
$1,148,536.
Four representatives of Environmental Consulting and Technology spent two full days elec-
trofishing and cataloguing fish species in the Rouge River near the Wayne Dam last month.