EPA Collects 11K Gallons Of Water From Contaminated Site
MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich (AP) — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency collected roughly 11,000 gallons of water from a contaminated industrial site in Madison Heights, officials said.
Groundwater and soil samples were taken Friday from Electro-Plating Services, The Royal Oak Tribune reported.
High levels of multiple contaminants were found in soil and groundwater at the site when an inspection was launched after brightly-colored ooze was seen last month seeping through a concrete barrier along Interstate 696.
Officials said the tests will evaluate the contamination level. Results were expected within weeks.
Electro-Plating Services, under scrutiny by regulators for two decades, was shut down in 2016 for mismanagement of industrial waste. The EPA conducted a 2017 cleanup but it "was not intended to address all environmental impacts," state officials have said.
State officials concluded earlier this year that the site posed no risk to drinking water and there was a low risk for the migration of contaminates off-site.
The owner of Electro-Plating, Gary Sayers, was sentenced in November to a year in federal prison for illegally storing hazardous waste. He reported to prison Friday, according to The Detroit Free Press. In 2005, he had pleaded guilty in state court to illegally transporting hazardous waste.
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