Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and EGLE have requested an updated Consent Judgment from the Washtenaw County Circuit Court to address the 1,4-dioxane plume in the Ann Arbor area. The new judgment replaces the outdated 85 ppb standard with the current 7.2 ppb cleanup criteria for 1,4-dioxane in groundwater. Gelman Sciences will have to comply with the more protective cleanup criteria for 1,4-dioxane and implement additional response activities to ensure compliance with lower cleanup criteria for drinking water, surface water, and soils. The amended Consent Judgment requires installing more extraction wells, monitoring wells to track the 1,4-dioxane plume’s migration, investigating groundwater migrating into surface water, providing bottled drinking water to residents, and developing contingency plans to extend municipal water in certain areas. A hearing has been requested by the Department of Attorney General for the Court to approve the Consent Judgment.
Michigan’s AG Nessel and EGLE Announce Updated Requirements for Gelman Sciences
Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel and the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) recently filed a motion requesting an updated Consent Judgment for Gelman Sciences, LLC in the Washtenaw County Circuit Court. This will govern response activities to address the 1,4-dioxane plume in the Ann Arbor area.
The updated Consent Judgment replaces the outdated 85 ppb standard with the current 7.2 ppb cleanup criteria for 1,4-dioxane in groundwater. It also requires Gelman to implement additional response activities to ensure compliance with lower cleanup criteria for drinking water, surface water, and soils.
Nessel expressed her approval of the updates, saying that “Lower criteria and additional response activities are important steps toward addressing this contamination and important for the people of Washtenaw County.” The amended Consent Judgment will require Gelman to comply with more protective cleanup criteria for 1,4-dioxane.
The updated Consent Judgment mandates additional response activities, including installing more extraction wells to remove and treat contaminated groundwater, monitoring wells to track the 1,4-dioxane plume’s migration, investigating groundwater migrating into surface water, providing bottled drinking water to residents whose wells exceed 3 parts per billion of 1,4-dioxane, developing contingency plans to extend municipal water in certain areas, and proposing response activities for the wetland on Gelman’s property.
The new agreement provides the State with the necessary tools to ensure that Gelman continues to address its 1,4-dioxane plume and allows EGLE to require compliance at the lower, more protective levels. The updated terms put the cleanup on track to bring new extraction wells and monitoring wells online, bolster contingency planning, and take other necessary steps to protect public health and the environment.
Michigan’s AG Nessel Requests Hearing for Gelman Sciences’ Consent Judgment
The Michigan Department of Attorney General has requested a hearing as soon as possible, if needed, for the Court to approve Gelman Sciences, LLC’s proposed Consent Judgment. The State and Gelman do not believe that a hearing is necessary, but the request has been made nonetheless. The Consent Judgment outlines response activities to address the 1,4-dioxane plume in the Ann Arbor area.
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