Officials: Waste drums near Hartland Village Elementary pose no danger

M. Alan Scott
·3 min read

HARTLAND — A small group of metal drums housed by the Hartland School District have been deemed to have no danger to the community and are slated to be removed in the near future.

The drums are located behind the district’s maintenance building, located roughly 100 feet east of Hartland Village Elementary, according to Superintendent Chuck Hughes. Some of the metal drums are empty, while others contain non-hazardous soil generated during well drilling. One empty drum with glue residue is located in the same general area, Hughes said.

The district has been a client of NOVA Consultants Inc. — a professional engineering, environmental and energy service firm in Novi — since 1995. At the request of Hartland Schools, NOVA recently completed environmental testing of the drums while coordinating mitigation planning in cooperation with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the Livingston County Health Department.

A small group of metal drums housed by the Hartland School District have been deemed to have no danger to the community and are slated to be removed in the near future.
A small group of metal drums housed by the Hartland School District have been deemed to have no danger to the community and are slated to be removed in the near future.

When asked when the drums would be removed, Hughes responded to the The Daily by email, writing: “As soon as it can be arranged to send them to an EGLE-approved landfill."

Hughes indicated the district is not aware of any other metal drums on district property that need to be tested. “One may find oil drums that we use for maintenance” as part of normal operations, Hughes wrote.

NOVA Consultants Senior Project Manager Jeff Eckhout said the recent inspection by his firm confirmed there's no contamination where the metal drums are located. NOVA Consultants tested soil underneath the same drums in 2017, with results showing no contamination then either, Eckhout said.

The same drums were found to have leaked in 1994 and the site was fully remediated, he added. The topic came up again when a local resident filed a report with EGLE. When notified, Eckhout said he visited the site on April 11 to confirm there was no current leakage.

“In my opinion, there was never a situation where students would be impacted,” Eckhout said.

Following the resident’s report to EGLE, Hughes mentioned the drums in his superintendent report, sent to district parents and placed on the website earlier this month. In that letter, Hughes wrote the district had become aware of photos of the drums being posted on local social media websites, and that concerned citizens had sent the photos to EGLE.

Hughes wrote in that district letter that “drumming” is a “standard operating procedure” based on feedback from EGLE. He added EGLE staff indicated to him the district can “mention (to local residents) that the contents of the drums are investigation derived waste.”

Hughes further added “the waste is sand and water."

Hartland resident Tyffany Baird admits she contacted EGLE about the drums and believes she's the resident that Hughes referenced in his district letter. She is concerned about the existence of the drums, despite the district’s assertions there's no danger to students and staff.

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Baird found and took photos of the drums recently and posted messages about her findings on her personal social media page. Baird, who has two sons attending Hartland Schools, plans to run for the district’s school board in November.

“I’m not trying to scare people but I’m looking for transparency,” Baird said. “I want to give other parents information they can use to make decisions.”

— M. Alan Scott is a freelance writer for The Livingston Daily. Contact the newsroom at newsroom@livingstondaily.com.

This article originally appeared on Livingston Daily: Officials: Waste drums near Hartland Village Elementary pose no danger