Charges filed over abandoned barge close to Traverse City
The owner of a partially submerged barge that has been the bane of residents, environmentalists and at least one lawmaker since 2020, was recently charged by the state attorney general with a felony and multiple misdemeanors.
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel said she is charging Donald Balcom, of Traverse City, with crimes connected to an industrial barge in Grand Traverse Bay to protect the Great Lakes from pollution — and preserve them for posterity.
“The Great Lakes are treasured natural resources that are central to our way of life in Michigan,” Nessel said in a statement that was released Thursday, adding: “They are not a dumping ground or a junkyard for abandoned vessels.”
Balcom, the owner of Muskegon-based Balcom Marine Contractors, is accused of leaving the barge on Lake Michigan bottomlands near Greilickville, about 10 minutes away from Traverse City, in 2020 in the bay’s west arm. It is reportedly sitting in about 10 feet of water about 100 yards from shore and leaking oil and fuel.
A recorded message for phone numbers to both Balcom’s home and business said they were no longer active.
Chris Roxburgh, an underwater photographer who lives in Traverse City who has been following and taking images of the barge, told the Free Press that the abandoned barge is a local issue “that is pissing people off,” but also part of a larger problem: damage to the state’s natural resources.
Television stations, including WPBN-TV in Traverse City, which has been following the saga
for years, reported in 2021 that stormy weather and rough conditions on the bay caused the barge to sink and release an estimated 40 gallons of oil and diesel fuel into the water.
Residents and businesses, including the West Shore Hotel Marina, have persistently complained, and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy cited the company, saying it could cost the state $400,000 to remove the barge.
On top of that, state Rep. Jack O’Malley, RLake Ann, who WPBN interviewed, told the news outlet it would take a while to pass new legislation to outlaw abandoning barges.
WPBN reported Balcom agreed to tow the barge to an appropriate place, but abandoned it again.
The attorney general’s office said charges include a felony for the release of hazardous substances into Michigan waters and misdemeanors for trespassing, violating marine safety and leaving the barge in state waters without a permit.
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