The Anglers of the Au Sable River said it’s still waiting on thousands of documents it requested from the Michigan Economic Development Corporation last year.
The conservation group launched a lawsuit against the state agency in April, saying MEDC has not supplied over 9,000 documents on a new weapons manufacturing facility that’s being built in Grayling.
According to member Bruce Pregler, the Anglers hope the documents will reveal more about how the manufacturing will impact natural areas and the Au Sable River watershed.
Construction began in April on the expected $75 million facility that will produce weapons and military products by a U.S. subsidiary of the Swedish defense company Saab. The plant is expected to start manufacturing in 2026.
“We’re looking for environmental studies, physical dimensions and size of the plant, utilities, wastewater and gas usage, land agreements, and any incentives that were offered by the state,” Pregler said.
Pregler said the group has received over 1,400 of the over 9,000 pages requested. But he said much of the documents are sealed by a nondisclosure agreement (NDA) between Saab and the MEDC.
Some materials listed under “trade secrets” in the NDA are environmental studies, site plans, financial statements, identities of customers, current wages of employees and more.
Pregler said the Anglers plan to amend their lawsuit in hopes to get access to the documents.
“Our position, as we look at this, is that the burden of proof to claim that a public body is exempt from producing documentation covered by an NDA must prove that the exemptions are met and it's on them,” Pregler said.
Saab will make and test its AT4 product line — shoulder mounted weapons with softball-sized rounds designed to pierce through heavily armored objects. It will also make components of its Ground-Launched Small Diameter Bomb, but officials have said these won’t be tested in Grayling.
While the project has received support from Gov. Gretchen Whitmer, U.S. Representative Jack Bergman and local officials, some residents expressed concern with what they call a “growing military presence in the area.”
Grayling is home to the largest National Guard training facility in the country that has tried to expand its footprint in recent years. Camp Grayling is a cornerstone of the National All-Domain Warfighting Center which also includes 17,000 square miles of special-use military airspace at the Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.
