JACKSON, Mich. — The Environmental Protection Agency added a contaminated former metal plating facility in Jackson to its list of Superfund sites on Friday, marking it as one of the most toxic sites in the United States.
“It's an industrial site that had that in the past, had a plating company on it that's been there since before World War One," said James Shotwell Jr., chairman of the Jackson County Commission.
The Michner Plating-Mechanic Street site covers about four acres in the city of Jackson. The plating factory includes four buildings. According to EPA documents, the site has "extensive contamination."
“It's been an ongoing situation here in Jackson for a long time," Shotwell said.
Local environmental authorities knew about contamination at the site back in the 1970s, and the state began issuing violation notices to the facility in 1989. According to the EPA, there were violation notices issued nearly every year until the plant closed in 2007.
“One hundred years ago, we didn't think about not dumping things on the ground or or if things spilled, you really didn't worry about them that much. And today we know what they what the different problems can be from them," Shotwell said.
The site is particularly dangerous because it’s close to the Grand River and contaminants like arsenic and hexavalent chromium discharge from floor drains directly into the river and ground water under the facility.
Today the site is owned by the county.
“The county treasurer did have to take it for delinquent taxes," Shotwell said. "So that's how we ended up with control of the property.”
The EPA says adding the property to the list of Superfund sites is the first step in the process.
“Next steps include the remedial investigation and design phase to identify the cleanup that will determine the cost," an agency spokesperson wrote in an email.
Once the site is cleaned up and safe for use, Shotwell said, local officials want to see it revitalized and put to better public use.
“Reuse is one of the big things that Michigan is famous for. There are brownfield sites all over the state of Michigan," he said. "They get re-utilized and Jackson, along with other communities right in the area, have done that."
Want to see more local news? Visit the FOX47News Website.
Stay in touch with us anytime, anywhere.
Sign up for newsletters emailed to your inbox.
Select from these options: Neighborhood News, Breaking News, Severe Weather, School Closings, Daily Headlines, and Daily Forecasts.
