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WHAT WE LEARNED —
AND WHAT COMES NEXT
Following the evidence from Monday to Thursday
Now we're going after the underlying data.
Thank you to everyone who commented and asked questions after we shared Michigan's 2026 Eat Safe Fish guidance for Pere Marquette Lake and River.
WHAT MICHIGAN SAID MONDAY
During the opening MPART presentation for PFAS Awareness Week, Michigan explained that PFAS entering rivers can bioaccumulate in fish and can move through groundwater and other environmental pathways.
Michigan also explained that conventional wastewater treatment generally cannot break PFAS down.
Determining where it came from is another.
Michigan says fish are collected throughout the state and analyzed for PFAS and other contaminants. Those data are then used to develop the annual Eat Safe Fish Guide.
YOU ASKED THE NEXT QUESTIONS
- What are the actual PFOS levels in the fish?
- Where and when were the fish collected?
- How many fish were tested?
- Where did the PFOS come from?
- What is being done about it?
- How are local anglers and visiting fishermen being notified?
- What should someone do who has eaten these fish for decades?
🎣 PFAS & Fish — What to Know About Michigan's Eat Safe Fish Guide
MPART says Thursday's webinar will explain: how fish are caught, where they are caught, how the data are used, and how that information becomes Michigan's Eat Safe Fish guidance.
One of the most important may also be the simplest:
What are the actual fish-tissue results behind the PFOS “Do Not Eat” recommendations for Pere Marquette Lake and River?
We want the concentrations, species, collection dates, sampling locations and number of fish tested.
FISH THESE WATERS?
MPART specifically encouraged people attending Monday's webinar to tell their fishing friends about Thursday.
We're doing exactly that.
VIEW WEBINAR DETAILS & JOINPFAS & FISH
What to Know About Michigan's Eat Safe Fish Guide
or the Pere Marquette River?
This webinar is for you.
PFAS & Fish — What to Know About Michigan's Eat Safe Fish Guide
What will Michigan explain?
The State says this webinar will help people understand how Michigan fish are caught, processed and analyzed for contaminants and how to use Michigan's Eat Safe Fish Guide.
WHY THIS MATTERS HERE
Michigan's 2026 Eat Safe Fish Guide specifically lists:
PERE MARQUETTE LAKE AND RIVER
For four fish categories, the chemical of concern identified by Michigan is PFOS, and the recommendation is:
Those recommendations raise important questions about when and where fish were sampled, how many fish were tested, what concentrations were found, and how Michigan determines its consumption recommendations.
Thursday gives fishermen, women and families an opportunity to hear directly from the people who work with Michigan's fish-testing program.
JOIN THE WEBINAR
EGLE has made the event information available online.
VIEW WEBINAR DETAILS & JOINWe have questions — and we hope you do too.
What Is Causing Ludington's Odor?
We don't know. But the City's September 14 report raises questions that can now be compared against decades of environmental records.
Neither Jefferson Henry nor Dan Jensen has personally experienced the odor being reported around Ludington. We therefore cannot describe the odor from personal observation, and PMLWC is not claiming to know its source.
What the City Reported
During the September 14, 2026 Ludington City Council meeting, the City provided a detailed update concerning odor complaints reported around Ludington.
According to the City's report, EGLE's Air Quality Division has been investigating the complaints for several weeks. Importantly, the City's account did not identify one source for every complaint. Instead, it described several different conditions under investigation.
- Some broader odor complaints were reportedly associated with decomposing lakeshore vegetation and unusual August wind conditions.
- EGLE Air Quality personnel reportedly made three visits to the Ludington wastewater treatment plant, which the City said had been ruled out as a source of the odor complaints investigated by that division.
- Some complaints reportedly appear specific to Great Lakes Castings and remain under investigation.
- The City separately reported an ammonia-type odor in the Pere Marquette industrial area, near the Consumers Energy/Whitehall Industries area. According to the City's report, investigators had not determined where that odor was coming from.
Why PMLWC Is Paying Attention
The Pere Marquette Lake Watershed Council has spent considerable time assembling the environmental history of Pere Marquette Lake and the surrounding industrial area.
That documentary record includes historical groundwater information, wastewater and discharge records, lagoon investigations, environmental sampling, mixing-zone studies and chemical data extending back decades.
Ammonia already appears in that historical environmental record.
More recently, EGLE conducted PFAS sampling at the Occidental Chemical facility on March 19, 2025. OxyChem's split-sample laboratory report subsequently documented PFAS detections at numerous sampling locations, including PFOS and PFOA.
These records do not establish that Occidental Chemical, the wastewater treatment plant, or any other particular facility is responsible for the odor currently being reported. PMLWC is not making that claim.
So What Are We Doing?
We are asking for the evidence.
PMLWC has already been communicating with EGLE concerning the odor investigation. EGLE District Supervisor Justin Bragg identified Tammie Puite of the Air Quality Division as the employee conducting the investigation.
We are requesting information concerning:
- EGLE's completed investigation report;
- the dates and locations of its field investigations;
- the basis for the conclusion concerning decomposing lakeshore vegetation;
- the observations used to evaluate and reportedly rule out the wastewater treatment plant;
- the investigation of the unidentified ammonia-type odor;
- facilities or locations investigated in connection with that odor; and
- any additional sampling, inspections or follow-up investigation EGLE plans to conduct.
There Is Another Question
If decomposing lakeshore vegetation is responsible for some of the odor, that may identify the immediate source of the smell.
That is a separate question, and one that should be answered with environmental data rather than speculation.
The Documents Come First.
We aren't going to identify a source before the evidence identifies one.
We will compare EGLE's current investigation with the historical environmental record we have assembled for Pere Marquette Lake. When EGLE provides its findings, we will publish what those findings show — even if the evidence takes us somewhere different from where anyone expected.
No guessing.
No predetermined conclusion.
Follow the data.
Residents who personally experience an odor should continue reporting their observations through the City and EGLE's established complaint process. Dates, times, locations and environmental conditions can help investigators identify patterns.
Pere Marquette Lake Watershed Council, Inc.
September 15, 2026
MDHHS Eat Safe Fish Guide — Northwest Michigan (2025)
Note: Fish consumption advisories are issued by MDHHS. This guide is provided here for public education and reference.
Update: FOIA Cost Estimate Received from WMSRDC
On December 09, 2025, the Pere Marquette Lake Watershed Council received a formal FOIA Cost Estimate & Itemization Form from the West Michigan Shoreline Regional Development Commission (WMSRDC) regarding our Section 208 records request.
- 77 pages of responsive records were located.
- Total estimated cost: $858.00
- Required deposit: $429.00 (50%)
- Scheduled completion date: December ??, 202?
- Delivery format: PDF via email
This FOIA estimate confirms that WMSRDC does possess records relevant to the regional water quality management responsibilities outlined under Section 208 of the Clean Water Act—despite earlier indications that such records were not archived. The identification of 77 pages of responsive documents marks an important step toward reconstructing the complete historical planning record for wastewater, industrial discharge coordination, and watershed protection in the Pere Marquette Basin.
View FOIA Cost Estimate (PDF)PMLWC discovers the real invasive species
Monday’s public meeting tried to make “public safety” the story. The facts say otherwise. The Ludington Police Department determined last week’s phoned threat was not credible. What is credible — and mapped — is a decades-old, man-made subsurface invasion: chloride and ammonia traveling through groundwater beneath our public marinas and into Pere Marquette Lake.
These plumes predate modern marina expansions and mirror what planners once warned about misuse of the shoreline — except this invasion is human-made and measurable. The plume maps and data boxes show concentrations exceeding 1,000–2,000 mg/L in key zones. This isn’t nature’s invasion; it’s ours.
When residents raised conflicts of interest alongside this evidence, leaders reached for the gavel and a safety narrative. Transparency means stating the conflict plainly and addressing the plume — not portraying citizens as threats.
What happens next: PMLWC is publishing the source exhibits (thermal mixing studies, chloride maps, EGLE files) and the meeting excerpts so the public can weigh substance over spin.
OxyChem Ludington South Pond Contamination Briefing – EGLE Meeting Slide Deck
Watch the video and review the official February 23, 2022 presentation detailing the South Pond exfiltration, groundwater impacts, and Buttersville Peninsula contamination. Click below to download the full PDF of the slide deck.