On December 20, 2109, a bright green liquid began seeping onto I-696 in Madison Heights near the Couzens offramp. This substance was found to be Hexavalent Chromium from the ground under and near Electro-Plating Services, a company that had had numerous hazardous waste issues and violations in the past.
Mayor Brian Hartwell was overseas, and then Mayor Pro Tem Roslyn Grafstein was challenged with working for our residents and city to ask questions, find answers, and bring our city closer to solutions.
During this time, she spent many hours communicating with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), Michigan Department of Transportation (MDOT), Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MDHHS), as well as many other state, county and local agencies and resources, to push for answers, remediation and financial support.
On the morning of December 28, 2019 the City of Madison Heights updated their website calendar to reflect a Special Meeting to be held at 6 pm December 30, 2019.
A minimum of 18 hours notice is required for a Special Meeting. Approximately 20 residents came out to the meeting, significantly more than usually show up at a regular meeting. Concerns were raised about the ease of entry onto the property and those were addressed the following day.
Roslyn attended the third EGLE update in Warren and met with Senator Jeremy Moss and State Representative Jim Ellison to take a tour of the inside of EPS. Roslyn stated in their combined press release:
“Over the last three weeks I have reached out to experts in the field from across the country, seeking their guidance and suggestions on what our next steps should be,” Mayor Pro Tem Grafstein said. “I heard the concerns of our residents and as a resident myself, I want solutions and action. Right now, our focus is on cleanup and ensuring the safety of our residents.
We appreciate everything EGLE and the EPA are doing now to expedite testing with a goal for complete remediation. Everyone is aware that all eyes are now on us. Moving forward I hope the state and federal agencies will use this as an impetus to update their procedures and policies so that no other municipality will have to go through this. We are working with Senator Moss, Representative Ellison, EGLE and other agencies to coordinate a Public Briefing to address our questions and concerns.”
Roslyn was joined by Mayor Hartwell and met with several department heads at the weekly EGLE update. Roslyns' physical presence and continued questioning has kept the concerns of Madison Heights at the forefront of the meetings.
Roslyn and City Manager Melissa Marsh were able to deliver questions from the community to both EGLE and the EPA, and those combined efforts helped shape the response from local, state and federal agencies.
Roslyn attended the fifth EPS update and spoke one-on-one with Governor Whitmer about the EPS site. Roslyn expressed the need for support in the efforts to completely and permanently clean up the site.
The Governor talked about reinstating the “polluters pay principle” and Roslyn suggested that procedural, administrative and communication changes within EGLE may help decrease the likelihood of something like this happening again.
Mayor Hartwell and Mayor Pro Tem Grafstein, along with other members of council, welcomed residents and neighbors to Madison High School for an update on the EPS site on Ten Mile.
Many concerned community members and officials attended to hear detailed information and updates from Tracy Kecskemeti of EGLE and Tricia Edwards of the EPA.
"Our number one concern right now is cleaning this up. Get it out of my city. Get it out of my soil. I want it gone. But we also need to look at what are the procedural changes we can change: what can we do between the state and the municipalities."
~ Mayor Pro Tem Roslyn Grafstein to WDIV News
During the State of the City address, Roslyn was given a giant wrench from Mayor Hartwell for her leadership throughout the EPS/I-696 situation and recovery process.
The USEPA and EGLE hosted a virtual Community Update meeting for the Electro-plating Services-I696 site in Madison Heights. The USEPA and EGLE provided an update on the status of the environmental investigation and response.
The agencies also presented information on planned building demolition work at the site. Following the presentations, community members were provided an opportunity to ask questions of state and federal agency personnel.
The USEPA and EGLE hosted a virtual Community Update meeting for the Electro-plating Services-I696 site in Madison Heights. The USEPA and EGLE provided an update on the status of the environmental investigation and response.
The agencies also presented information on planned building demolition work at the site. Following the presentations, community members were provided an opportunity to ask questions of state and federal agency personnel.
Madison Heights City Council awarded a contract to Rochester Hills-based The Adams Group for the demolition of the Electro-Plating Services site at 945 E. 10 mile Road, beginning April 22nd.
“Madison Heights is extremely thankful to all levels of government that have contributed to making this demolition possible, and for their support over the past two years during the cleanup efforts at the Electro-Plating Services site,” Grafstein said. “The safety of our city’s residents is a concern for the entire region, and we’re happy to see that the City can depend on our elected officials at all levels to have our back when it’s most essential.”
Madison Heights Mayor Roslyn Grafstein says although Electro-Plating Services made headlines in December 2019 following a chemical spill on Interstate 696, the business raised concerns in the city for years.
"Our legal team has been trying to get this condemned, trying to get this cleaned-up but the current owner has continuously fought us every step of the way," Grafstein said. The green ooze that was found leaking on the highway is hexavalent chromium, a carcinogen. The public health hazard pushed the city council to approve the site to be demolished.
"We have some funding from the state and from the county to help with demolition cost. A few weeks ago, council approved a contractor who is skilled in this type of demolition." The process kicked off Friday, but it will take weeks to flatten the structure. "Because of the nature of the contamination, it's not just oh, it's going to be demolished, here's a wrecking ball, It all goes to landfill," Grafstein said. "They need to go through, they need to process everything, and they need to make sure that everything that's coming out of there isn't going to then further contaminate something else."
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