EAGLE TWP. Mich. (Michigan News Source) – Once touted as the future of Michigan’s industrial boom, Eagle Township in Clinton County was set to host a massive megasite which came to be named the Michigan Manufacturing Innovation Campus (MMIC).

With the enthusiastic support and millions of dollars in backing from Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer, the Michigan Economic Development Corporation (MEDC), Lansing Economic Area Partnership (LEAP) and their many partners across the state, officials tried to push the project forward. But there was one major problem – the community wanted no part of it. Faced with overwhelming local opposition, the project was ultimately scrapped.

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However, when it comes to things that Eagle Township actually wants and needs – it looks like funding is in short supply.

Eagle Township Supervisor Troy Stroud told Michigan News Source that his recent attempt to secure funding for a critical community issue – addressing PFAS (forever chemicals) contamination in the water – was shut down almost as soon as it began.

Consumers Energy declines Eagle Township’s proposal for PFAS funding.

The funding that the township was seeking is from Consumers Energy and their foundation’s “2025 Planet Awards.” Consumers Energy, has been a major player in many of the state’s megasite projects including the Gotion project and also the Eagle Township megasite where the utility company was one of dozens of “partner entities” across the state involved in the signing of an NDA (non-disclosure agreement) concerning the megasite project.

However, when it came to tackling PFAS contamination, the Eagle Township plan didn’t even make it past Consumers Energy’s gatekeeping, shutting them out before they could even apply for a grant. About his proposal, Stroud said, “We have a local guy who does Biochar to absorb the PFAS. We put in a holding pond at the end of the Reed drain, re-route it, that’s what part of the money we would need –to pay the county to re-route the drain. And then the rest would be to put this Biochar-lined pond in and they would pull it out to suck the Biochar out and that would keep it from running into the river – because it goes ‘Looking Glass, Grand, Lake Michigan’…”

Application denied.

Stroud’s idea to stop the PFAS from going into Lake Michigan got nixed at the “letter of intent” phase. He said, “I didn’t even get to apply for a grant. You have write what your grant proposal is and then they tell you if you are accepted to write a grant for them to review.”

In response to Stroud’s letter, Catherine Wilson of Consumers Energy Foundation, Executive Director, Corporate Giving, said to Eagle Township, “Thank you for submitting a letter of intent for the Consumers Energy Foundation’s 2025 Planet Awards. The interest in this year’s program was high, and we were challenged in all the best ways to determine those applicants invited to move forward in this process. I am writing to inform you that Eagle township’s proposal for the Reed Drain Pfas fix was not selected for further consideration for a 2025 Planet Award. I am very sorry.”

$1.5M in grants offered by Consumers Energy for land, water and air initiatives.

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The grant awards handed out by the Consumers Energy Foundation are given to programs and projects that positively impact Michigan’s land, water, and air. In their letter of intent document, they explain that the grants are to impact the planet by supporting Michigan’s land, water and air and that the foundation is “dedicated to ensuring Michigan has world-class natural resources by funding programs that strengthen environmental education/ stewardship, preserve Michigan’s natural beauty, and reduce environmental impact when natural resources are used.”

The grants, according to the foundation’s website range from $1,000 to $100,000. Eagle Township had asked for $100,000. The foundation is giving away $1.5 million in grants total. The official announcement of the winners of the grants will be in April.

Stroud said about the denial of the PFAS application, “There’s all kinds of appetite to carve us into a 9-square-mile factory site but when it comes to actually supporting the locals with things that would help us, there’s no support from the state – or their partners.”

Toxic priorities: millions for “greenwashing” but nothing for clean water.

Despite the state and its partners eagerness to throw millions of dollars at megasite projects that residents reject, essential community needs like safe drinking water are ignored. Eagle Township’s request for $100,000 to combat PFAS contamination – a drop in the bucket compared to the massive incentives doled out to industrial ventures supported by the governor – was brushed aside. For Eagle Township residents, the message is clear: There’s money for government-backed industrial fantasies, but when it comes to fixing real problems that affect real people, the well runs dry.