The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced the Michner Plating site in Michigan will be added to the Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) of contaminated sites that pose significant human health and environmental risks.
“No community deserves to have contaminated sites near where they live, work, play, and go to school,” says EPA Administrator Michael S. Regan.
Vats containing unknown powder at the site.The Michner Plating-Mechanic Street site is located in Jackson County, Michigan, adjacent to the Grand River. The site consists of four buildings within four-acres in a mixed residential and commercial portion of the city of Jackson. The site is a former metal plating facility which operated from 1938 until 2007. The state issued numerous violation notices to the facility beginning in 1989 and nearly every year until it ceased operations in 2007.
Adding the Michner Plating industrial site to the Superfund National Priorities List is encouraging news for the well-being of the Jackson community, says Congressman Tim Walberg from Michigan’s 7th District.
“By pushing forward on the clean-up of this long-abandoned site, we can benefit the environment, revitalize the property, and generate new jobs and economic opportunity,” Walberg says.
The state of Michigan referred the site to the EPA because of the extensive contamination left in place at the Michner Plating facility. Contamination at the site includes solvents, arsenic, hexavalent chromium, and high concentrations of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) including vinyl chloride. In addition, per- and poly-fluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) have been detected in groundwater beneath the site.
EPA has removed approximately 1,100 drums and hundreds of 55-gallon totes, but buried drums remain beneath the building slab. The site is currently owned by Jackson County, which intends to redevelop the property for productive use after cleanup.
“The City of Jackson is pleased to hear that the U.S. EPA is taking swift action to remedy the environmental hazards at Michner Plating,” says Jackson City Manager Jonathan Greene. “Collaboration between federal, state and local government is essential to protecting the immediate and long-term health of our community. The former plating is located in the heart of our City, and once it’s cleaned up, we can start planning for a better future for the property.”
