According to a 1966 court settlement obtained by Varnum Law, local shoemaker Wolverine World Wide reached an agreement with Plainfield Township city officials over 50 years ago that allowed the company to continue dumping tannery sludge in the area as long as the waste didn't contaminate the surrounding ground water.
However, according to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, (DEQ) Wolverine World Wide didn’t hold up its end of the bargain.
At a public town hall last week in Rockford, the DEQ announced that so far, 30 homes in the area have been confirmed to have water with unsafe levels of per and poly floral alkyl substances, commonly called "PFAS."
“We do have some contamination, we have residents that shouldn’t be drinking the water," David O’Donnel from the DEQ told WGVU. "When you have contamination in ground water obviously and people are drinking it, it’s bad, that’s as bad as it gets.”
Meanwhile, Varnum Law Attorney Aaron Phelps says it’s clear that both Plainfield Township and Wolverine World Wide knew about the potential dangers of the dump sites long before public health officials got involved.
“First and foremost people are very frustrated that this is only coming out now. This dumping took place decades ago." Phelps said. "This is a place where they have disposed of their tannery waste and the health concerns related to these PFAS compounds, have been known for at least the past fifteen to twenty years and so this should have been dealt with earlier than it was, and people want more information.”
Varnum Law currently represents over a hundred residents who may have been effected by the contaminated water. So far, 8 lawsuits have been filed against Wolverine World Wide.
A representative told WGVU the company does comment on pending litigation.
