Plenty of contaminants found at Detroit-area industrial site
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. (AP) — High levels of multiple contaminants have been found in soil and groundwater at an old industrial site in suburban Detroit, state regulators said, after an inspection that was triggered by the discovery of a yellow-green substance along a major interstate.
There is no risk to drinking water intakes on Lake St. Clair, the Michigan Department of Environment said Friday.
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency soon “will begin dozens of soil borings as part of an initial site characterization to help determine the extent and levels of contamination” at the former Electro-Plating Services in Madison Heights, the state said.
On Dec. 20, drivers on Interstate 696 saw a brightly colored goo seeping through a concrete barrier along the eastbound shoulder.
Macomb County Public Works Commissioner Candice Miller called the site a disaster.
The state said Electro-Plating was issued a cease-and-desist order in December 2016 due to mismanagement of hazardous waste.
The EPA conducted a cleanup in 2017, removing hazardous chemicals and pumping contaminated liquid from an earthen pit, but it “was not intended to address all environmental impacts,” the state said.
The owner, Gary Sayers, 77, recently was ordered to pay $1.5 million for the EPA’s costs. He also was sentenced to a year and a day in federal prison for illegally storing hazardous waste. The government said he didn’t have a permit.
It was the latest legal action against Electro-Plating. The company had been under scrutiny by regulators for more than 20 years.
Judge makes it easier for independents to get on ballot
DETROIT (AP) — A candidate who made a small ripple in his run for Michigan attorney general is having a major impact on state election law more than a year later.
A judge put Chris Graveline on the 2018 ballot after he challenged the signature requirement for independent statewide candidates. The same judge now has returned with a broader decision in his lawsuit, saying Michigan’s 30,000-signature threshold is too high.
U.S. District Judge Victoria Roberts set the bar at 12,000 petition signatures for the 2020 election. The ruling could immediately affect independent candidates who want to run for U.S. Senate or president. There are no races next year for Michigan governor, attorney general or secretary of state.
The 30,000-signature law was “not narrowly drawn to advance a compelling state interest,” Roberts said on Dec. 22.
It’s not known if the state will appeal.
Graveline finished fourth in the race for attorney general with less than 2% of the vote.
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