In 2020 Wolverine Worldwide and Plainfield Township reached a consent decree aimed at remedying contaminated water wells. The company’s disposal of toxic chemicals in the 1960s has been identified as the cause of the pollution.
As part of the $69.5 million settlement, the company agreed to pay, over multiple years, for the installation of municipal water lines for over 1000 homes in Algoma and Plainfield Township.
Plainfield Township Manager Cameron Van WynGarden says the company is not following through with the agreement by attempting to short the township about $19 million, a cost he says could end up being left to water rate payers to cover. VanWynGarden says the township is frustrated with Wolverine Worldwide.
“But honestly not that surprised they’ve been extremely challenging to work with throughout this process, looking at every angle to cut corners and not do right by our community, and so honestly this was, as saddening as it was to see this it was not shocking,” he said.
Van WynGarden says Wolverine’s court filings suggest the company has fulfilled its obligation but he says construction is still underway and bills are still being accumulated. He adds the township hasn’t even begun construction on a new well field.
"With the vast plume of PFAS from their dumpsites, finding a clean safe well field site has been extremely challenging and even if we find that well site the odds of it remaining a clean well site into the future are very dubious at best," Van WynGarden.
He said the township anticipates the township will need to invest in expensive filtration to either treat water that has some level of PFAS or to hedge against future contamination from the expanding plume.
"We're relying on our justice system to come through for us and hold this polluting party responsible for the damage they've done to our residents," Van WynGarden said. "If they were to succeed on this claim, basically they're going to leave our water rate payers holding the bag on future costs to continue the system, to improve it, to make all those final changes that are necessary to fight this pollution and that's just not justice served."
In a statement, Wolverine Worldwide said it only agreed to pay the township up to $62 million for municipal water and partially fund a new well field up to a limit of $7.5 million.
"Wolverine has not yet paid this additional amount towards the wellfield and/or water treatment system because Plainfield Township has not yet provided cost estimates as required under the Consent Decree. However, Wolverine will submit payment and continue to fully comply with the Consent Decree after receiving the Township’s estimates."
The company said it held up its end of the consent decree by paying the full cost to install municipal water, which it said it has paid more than 40 million dollars for so far.
"The project is coming to a close and running almost $20 million under budget, so Wolverine asked Plainfield Township multiple times whether it has incurred any additional costs to extend municipal water beyond what Wolverine has already paid. Wolverine stands ready to pay these costs, just as it has over the past few years, but unfortunately the Township has not provided any support for them."
The company filed a request in federal court last week to confirm that Wolverine’s payment is limited to the township’s total actual project costs and to prevent the township from recovering costs that it has not incurred.
Plainfield Township also filed with the federal court in response last week asking the court to intervene and enforce the agreed upon consent decree.