HANCOCK — The Western Upper Peninsula Health Department wrote to a developer seeking to withdraw a variance request made to the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy regarding its housing project in Portage Township, asking the developer to withdraw and correct a letter with inaccurate claims about approvals issued by the department.

River Trails had sought a variance request to EGLE in January regarding high levels of uranium found in the groundwater near the property.

WUPHD asked River Trails to withdraw an exhibit dated May 14 purporting to ask EGLE to reconsider their finding of an incomplete variance, which Beer said had not been drafted by either her or any other Health Department staffer.

“I was asked via email to review the document in question,” Beer said in the letter. “I am uncertain of the true author and origins of this letter and did not authorize its writing or approve its issuance.”

Beer also asked River Trails to withdraw the claim that WUPHD had approved the development. Instead, she said, it had issued a well and septic permit for the owner of one of the 13 lots approved as part of the smaller development pursued by River Trails after it had been unable to get EGLE approval for the larger 47-lot property.

“The larger, undivided parcel was subject to the Administrative Rules for On-site Water Supply and Sewage Disposal for Land Divisions and Subdivisions,” Beer said. “The approval of one carved out site under the local code does not negate application of the state administrative rules to the original larger development.”

Asked what River Trails would do in response to the letter, Manager Don McLean said he would need to discuss it with his attorney.

McLean said he had been asking EGLE to consider that their treatment of the lot for which septic and well had been approved was different than treatment of the same-sized lots under the original 47-lot plan.

As for the May 14 letter, McLean said it had been drafted by a third party at the request of a county commissioner, but was tabled at a WUPHD board meeting and had not seen the light of day. WUPHD had backed the variance request in an earlier February letter.

“We’re just interested in getting to find solutions and work together and not die in the back-and-forth, rather let’s get some housing taken care of,” McLean said.