The owners of a building that housed a former plating operation in Michigan have pleaded guilty to hazardous waste violations.
Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said two men pleaded no contest to events that occurred in February 2024 related to hazardous waste violations, which caused Bear Creek in Warren, MI, to turn blue. The men were sentenced on the same day of their pleas.
The building was the site of the former Fini Finish Metal Finishing plant in Warren.
On July 3, Saad Somo, a 50-year-old man from Washington Township, and Marvan Talal-Razooqi Batoo, a 40-year-old man from Shelby Township, pled no contest in Warren’s 37th District Court before Judge John M. Chmura to the following charges:
- Hazardous Waste - Operating a Facility without a License, a one-year misdemeanor;
- Hazardous Waste - Generator and Facility Operator Records, a one-year misdemeanor;
- Liquid Industrial Waste – General Violations, a 6-month misdemeanor; and
- Attempt Water Resources Protection Violation, a one-year misdemeanor.
An earlier charge of Water Resources Protection Violation, a two-year felony, against each man was dismissed after the Attempt Water Resources Protection Violation charge was added.
On the same day of the plea, Judge Chmura sentenced each man to pay fines, costs, and a special assessment totaling $3,500. The People, represented by Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Lozen, argued that both men should receive probation. Judge Chmura declined her request.
The pleas are the result of an investigation initiated after Bear Creek in Warren, MI turned a bright fluorescent green/blue on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024. The source of the contamination was found to be a former metal finishing commercial building in Warren owned by Somo and Batoo. The building was not heated, resulting in frozen water lines breaking and stored chemicals being spilled. Somo and Batoo disposed of the chemicals through a storm drain.
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources agreed with the final plea offer. The men cooperated with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, the Department of Natural Resources, and the Environmental Protection Agency in rectifying the spill. Somo and Batoo paid over $172,000 in remediation costs.
"Reckless handling of hazardous chemicals poses a serious threat to both public health and our environment. My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting environmental crimes and holding offenders fully accountable," Lucido says. "In this case, the defendants took responsibility by cleaning up the contamination they caused. Their cooperation and remediation efforts spared taxpayers the burden of cleanup costs and were appropriately considered in the resolution of the charges."
