The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) has ordered Wolverine Worldwide to remove PFAS chemicals that are currently polluting the ground water near its former Rockford tannery site.
The local shoemaker’s current plan involves digging 2,000 feet of shallow trenches around the property that are filled with sand and gravel—the trenches would then capture the flow of the contaminated ground water and prevent it from entering the Rogue River.
It’s the second plan that Wolverine Worldwide has submitted to EGLE, and the second time the company’s proposal has been rejected as well.
Dr. Rick Rediske, is a Senior Program Manager & Professor at Grand Valley State University’s Annis Water Resources Institute and also co-chairs the Wolverine Community Advisory Group. He agrees, the plan is not good enough and explains why:
“Well it falls short in the monitoring side, (because) they only picked a small number of places to test for PFAS.” Rediske said. “So it was really a very poor monitoring program.”
Rediske says the company now has 60 days to present and updated plan for approval, but admonished Wolverine Worldwide officials for its lack of urgency.
PFAS, an acronym for poly-fluorinated-alkyl-substances, are toxic chemicals found in water proofing agents like Scotch Guard, and if enough is ingested, it can lead to a long list of health concerns including cancer.
