DETROIT Michigan regulators have rejected a suburban Detroit county's plan to convert state waters into an open-air sewage treatment lagoon. The Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy said Friday it had denied Macomb County's application to place the structure at the end of the Chapaton Retention Treatment Basin. Among them: removing illicit sewer connections, addressing failing septic systems and filtering stormwater tributaries to the Chapaton Retention Treatment Basin through upstream green infrastructure projects. Officials said they also had concerns about a potential public nuisance created by an open-air sewage lagoon so close to existing residences, boat launches and a marina. Read more: Looking for coronavirus (COVID-19) clues in Macomb Countys raw sewage