Environmental advocates continued their calls for stronger polluter accountability policies while drawing attention to contamination in Southeast Michigan communities.
In recent weeks the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has taken action at two contamination sites in Southeast Michigan, with “corrosive milky liquids” seeping to the surface at the former McLouth Steel Corp. site in Riverview, and the release of electroplating chemicals into Bear Creek in Warren from the former Fini-Finish Metal Finishing plating shop.
While EGLE reported no immediate risk to human health after analyzing the first round of samples from Bear Creek, and emphasized the chemical release had no impact on drinking water, it has advised residents to avoid contact with the creek water and will continue its sampling and assessments.
EGLE has also advised residents to avoid contact with any liquids pooled or flowing at the North End of the former McLouth Steel Facility in Riverview near the new railroad crossing at the intersection of Payne Ave. and West Jefferson Ave. The Department is working with the site’s owner, River view Trenton Railroad Co., to minimize risks to public health and the environment and to stop the release of contaminants.
The corrosive milky liquid at this site has been found seeping to the surface in and around both sides of railroad tracks on West Jefferson Avenue and has been seen seeping into Monguagon Creek — also known as Huntington Creek — from the shoreline of the company’s property.
All liquids in these areas had pH measurements higher than 12 standard units, meaning they could damage skin or cause other harms when in direct contact with the liquid.
As of Feb. 6, Riverview Trenton Railroad Co. had installed a sump pump, with EGLE Public Information Officer Jeff Johnston telling the Advance in an email that the company had begun pumping the high pH groundwater, which is expected to control and eliminate the upward seeping. All liquids will be placed in containers and characterized for proper disposal with EGLE technical staff available to assist in this effort.
The railroad company must also submit a plan to investigate the cause of the upward seeping of the high-pH liquid and its migration and propose a long-term solution by Friday.
On Thursday, environmental groups and local officials met at Meyer Ellias Park in Trenton to call for a reform in how Michigan holds its polluters accountable.
Christy McGillivray, Sierra Club Michigan’s political and legislative director said the warnings to avoid contaminants in Riverview and Warren were symptoms of one big problem: the state does not have strong enough laws to require polluters to clean up toxic waste.
This is the same cause behind the Ten-Mile Drain Superfund site in St. Clair shores and has allowed BASF in Wyandotte to continue discharging thousands of gallons of toxic waste into the Detroit River on a daily basis in violation of a court order for 44 years, McGillivray said.
In October, state Sen. Jeff Irwin (D-Ann Arbor) and state Rep. Jason Morgan (D-Ann Arbor) led the introduction of a package of polluter accountability reforms in both chambers of the Legislature. This “polluter pay” package would set stricter requirements for environmental cleanups, increase transparency into cleanup sites, prevent the creation of additional orphan sites and provide individuals impacted by pollution with options to take action against polluters.
Before 1995, Michigan had strong laws centered on polluter accountability that placed responsibility for cleanups and cleanup costs on those who owned the land. However these policies were gutted under the administration of then Gov. John Engler, a Republican.
These changes to the program left Michigan taxpayers to pick up the tab for environmental cleanups, rather than the entity responsible for contamination.
EGLE estimates there are more than 24,000 contaminated sites across the states. Although Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has been able to secure some financial relief at these contaminated sites, most of Michigan’s environmental funding comes from unclaimed bottle deposits, Sean McBrearty, the legislation and policy director for Clean Water Action told the Advance in a previous interview, noting that this funding does not come close to meeting what the state’s needs.
Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) issued a statement on Thursday responding to the seeping liquid at the McLouth site and calling for stronger regulations on polluters.
“This most recent incident is emblematic of a much larger problem. Our long industrial history has done a lot of damage to our land and water, and we need sustainable funding to clean up and revitalize our communities. Passing legislation to require companies to clean up the damage they’ve done is an important first step,” Camilleri said.
Polluter pay bills aim to give Michigan regulators more authority, tools for environmental cleanup
At the press conference, community members noted that there have long been concerns regarding the McLouth site, with the southern portion of the property listed as a Superfund site by the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Riverview-Trenton Railroad Co. took control of the northern portion of the site in 2000.
“For years, our community has been vocal about the public health concerns at McLouth Steel,” Ryan Stewart, president of the McLouth Waterfront Alliance, said in a statement.
“Now, something that we predicted would happen has happened: a ‘mysterious’ corrosive liquid is seeping into our waterways. Our demands have remained the same – the McLouth site must be fully remediated and cleaned up with transparency. Michiganders deserve accountability from industry, and passing Polluter Pay should be a top priority for our lawmakers,” Stewart said.
Grosse Ile Twp. Trustee Kyle de Beausset said residents first began raising concerns about increased corrosive leaks more than nine months ago, attributing the increase to Riverview Trenton Railroad’s recent construction on the northern portion of the McLouth site.
“The system is rigged for polluters and we need better laws to both encourage cleanup and hold polluters accountable when they hurt our communities like this. Thankfully, our local state lawmakers are champions of better Polluter Pay laws, and I’m hopeful they’ll lead our state government to act quickly and better protect communities like ours from pollution,” de Beausset said in a statement.
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