Trial underway for building owner in Madison Heights I-696 green ooze case

Gary Sayers is facing a civil lawsuit from the city of Madison Heights after green ooze was found along I-696 and linked to a building he owns along 10 Mile Road.

Sayers owns the building which housed the now-condemned Electro-Plating Services on 10 Mile Road. It was the site of a massive cleanup in 2016 due to improperly stored hazardous waste. Sayers was recently sentenced after he pleaded guilty to storing hazardous waste without a permit. He is heading to prison this month.

The city wants him to demolish the building after the EPA ordered him to pay $1.5 million for cleanup costs. That civil trial got underway Jan. 13 in Oakland County Circuit Court and has continued into a second week.

• UPDATE: Madison Heights vs. Gary Sayers: Watch trial over toxic green ooze live here
• Read more: Trial held as Madison Heights fights to get condemned building demolished

Green ooze similar to what was found on I-696 might be linked to the ooze found in a Detroit building -- the Commonwealth Industry building on Commonwealth Street. Sayers owns that building, too. Jill Greenberg, public information officer for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy said the site is concerning and they will continue the investigation.

Meanwhile, test results confirmed the green substance found seeping onto I-696 in Madison Heights is hexavalent chromium.

Read more:

• Lawmakers, officials demand answers about contamination at condemned Madison Heights business
• New concerns raised about contaminated site in Madison Heights
• Detroit building boarded up after green chemical found inside
• Discovery of substance on I-696 leads to multi-county contamination investigation
• EB I-696 ramp to Couzens Avenue closed ‘indefinitely’ due to investigation, cleanup of green ooze
• Test results confirm substance found seeping onto I-696 is hexavalent chromium