Major progress made cleaning up toxic green ooze site in Madison Heights

MADISON HEIGHTS, Mich. – Enough progress has been made in cleaning up the toxic green ooze site in Madison Heights that the federal government has handed control back over to Michigan officials.

The work has never stopped at the green ooze site -- even during the pandemic. The EPA handing the case over to EGLE is a major sign of progress made.

The I-696 ramp to Couzens Avenue, which was closed indefinitely in November 2020, reopened Thursday.

Madison Heights officials said EGLE and EPA conducted an extensive investigation, installed a treatment system and collected more than 350,000 gallons of contaminated groundwater to be treated.

Gary Sayers, the owner of the building at the center of the Madison Heights toxic ooze case, hasn’t been seen much since November.

Sayers hasn’t been seen since we tracked him down here in Detroit.

A virtual town hall meeting with Madison Heights officials, the EPA and EGLE will be held Tuesday at 6 p.m. More information can be found here.

• Cleanup of contaminated site in Madison Heights moves into another phase
• Court battle over toxic ooze site turns heated
• Owner of Madison Heights green ooze building finally starts cleaning up worrisome Detroit property