ROCKFORD, Mich. — Wolverine Worldwide submitted its final plan to bring some potential closure to a massive PFAS site in Kent County.
“We just want them to do what’s right, to finish the job and do it the right way,” said Brenda Harris, who’s lived near one of Michigan’s worst PFAS sites for more than two decades. “This is our neighborhood. We have a lot of families that live on the street and we want this property to be handled in a respectful way and not just done in the most inexpensive manner.”
PREVIOUS COVERAGE: Two PFAS-contaminated sites in Kent County could be placed on EPA list of America's most toxic locations
PFAS are man-made chemicals typically found in seating and office furniture, as well as in some sanitary supplies. However, PFAS have also been found in public water supplies throughout Michigan.
West Michigan shoemaker Wolverine Worldwide previously operated a dump site off of House Street in Belmont. There, it disposed of chemicals from its tannery back in the 1960s, but those chemicals leaked into the groundwater.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) says the contamination zone spreads for miles.
I’m in Rockford tonight covering an important update on PFAs. pic.twitter.com/7FOKz1hn5S
— Matt Witkos Reporter (@matt_witkos) June 17, 2022
The investigation area is approximately 25 square miles. It ranges from as far north as about 12 Mile Road, all the way south down to the Grand River,” said Karen Vorce, EGLE District Supervisor. “At least in drinking water, wells have the highest concentration of PFAS that we have found in residential drinking water.”
“This issue doesn’t just affect our immediate neighborhood. It affects this entire community from Belmont, Rockford, Sparta, Comstock Park, all the way down to the Grand River,” added Harris.
Wolverine recently submitted its final remediation plan to EGLE for the House site.
READ: Full Work Plan - Final Remedy, House Street Property
FOX 17 reached out to Wolverine about this plan on Thursday. We’re told the company will construct three separate caps to extend 27 acres.
“A barrier and then it has clean soil that’s actually put on top of that. And then on top of the clean soil, some grass seed mix is then installed to kind of make sure there’s no erosion of that soil off the surface of that cap,” said Vorce.
She added that EGLE wants input from the public before starting the project, but crews could be out there as early as this winter.
Vorce said, “The best estimated timeframe right now is 30 months to install the cap and have it finished.”
Wolverine Worldwide will pay for the project and update its progress online.
EGLE will host a public meeting online Tuesday, June 21 from 6:00 to 7:30 p.m.
