Renew Harbor Island

The former JB Sims Generating Station was a coal-fired electrical power generation facility formerly operated by Grand Haven Board of Light and Power (GHBLP), and now managed by the City of Grand Haven (City) as part of Harbor Island. The facility, which is located at 1231 North 3rd Street, on Harbor Island, provided power to the City from until it ceased operations in February 2020. Coal combustion residuals, also known as (CCR) remain after coal is burned in the power generating process. The CCR were properly stored at the Harbor Island plant. The CCR units are referred to as: (1) the inactive Units 1/2 Impoundment and (2) the former Unit 3A/B Impoundments. Now that the plant is no longer operating, Grand Haven is working with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lake, and Energy (EGLE), and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency ( EPA) to properly manage any CCR materials that remain at the property. In the spring of 2022, the City’s consultant prepared a Work Plan to close the CCR units incompliance with both EPA and EGLE requirements.

As part of the environmental investigation of the former plant, PFAS constituents were detected. Therefore, in the spring of 2022, the City directed it’s consultants also to prepare a Work Plan to investigate PFAS at the former Plant.

The City is working closely with EGLE on a holistic approach to cleanup Harbor Island, and is exploring potential future uses for the property. The City will continue to consider community input as it moves through this process.

Renew Harbor Island ~ Work today, protect tomorrow