Did You Hear a Loud Noise Early Tuesday Morning in Trenton, on Grosse Ile?

A long, loud sound Trenton and Grosse Ile residents reportedly heard during the early morning hours Tuesday was caused by steam released at the Trenton Channel Power Plant.

Scott Simon, spokesman for DTE Energy, said at about 2:30 a.m. workers were restarting a generating unit and a pressure release valve opened, as designed, causing steam to be released for about 90 minutes.

"The sound can best be ecribed as the sound a teapot makes when water boils inside and the pot releases steam," Simon said.

The Trenton and Grosse Ile residents that commented on the Trenton-Grosse Ile Patch Facebook page Tuesday didn't use "teapot" to describe the noise. Some residents said the noise sounded like a jet engine. Others said it was extremely loud and woke up and scared their sleeping children.

Kathy Westbrooks Beckett commented:

"It WAS frightening! I opened the door and listened and couldn't figure it out. At first I thought it was a really long, fast train, but realized it wasn't. It was kind of scary and it kept me awake for the longest time last night! We are on Edgemont."

Simon said there was no environmental impact or injuries from the steam and apologized for any inconvenience.

"It was a lot of noise and certainly we apologize for that, and we appreciate our customers' understanding for this isolated incident," Simon said.

Deputy Chief Steve Voss of the Trenton Police Department said officers visited the power plant to find out the cause of the noise.

Voss said he plans to contact the city attorney Wallace Long and the possibility of a noise ordinance is being investigated.

*A previous version of this article stated, Simon said there was enviornmental impact or injuries from the steam and apologized for any inconvenience.

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