Dear Friends,

The House Appropriations Committee held a very important hearing yesterday to address the toxic ‘green ooze’ found spilling onto I-696 from the shuttered Electro Plating Services building in Madison Heights. During the hearing, we were able to hear directly from the Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), as well as local officials about the spill’s impact to the environment and public health and what needs to be done to prevent anything like this from happening again.

I was able to personally speak with EGLE Director Liesl Clark on both Tuesday and Wednesday of this week about the developing situation, as well as the ongoing cleanup of the local Forbes Cleaners property and the PFAS contamination at the RACER Trust site.

Although the toxic ‘green ooze’ is generating a lot of important recent news coverage, we must be diligent in our efforts to protect Michiganders from the over 7,000 other contaminated sites across our state. I take my role as a steward of the environment very seriously, and am proud to continue working closely with EGLE and Ypsilanti Township Supervisor Brenda Stumbo on the contamination threatening our own community.

If you have any questions about these ongoing environmental cleanup efforts, please reach out to me toll-free at (855) 347-8054 or by email at RonniePeterson@house.mi.gov.

Thank you all for your interest. I will keep you posted as new developments as they unfold.

Sincerely,

 

Ronnie Peterson

State Representative

54th House District