State House Committee to hold hearing on Madison Heights contamination

LANSING, Mich. – The State House Appropriations Committee called a hearing on the Madison Heights contamination for Wednesday at 9 a.m. in Lansing (watch it live here).

State officials and local leaders have been asked to attend the hearing to explain how Electro-Plating Services in Madison Heights was allowed to turn into the hazardous mess it is.

READ: Discovery of green substance on I-696 leads to multi-county contamination investigation

The business owner, Gary Sayers, owns two other properties where environmental investigators are taking samples. Sayers history of noncompliance with state regulations is lengthy. He is currently serving a year in prison for polluting.

State Rep. Shane Hernandez, who chairs the Appropriations Committee, said he doesn’t want Wednesday’s meeting to become a yelling match.

“Ultimately what we want here as an overall goal is to take this situation and learn from it,” Hernandez said. “I think there are some things we can do to improve communication, improve how different levels of government are working together.”

READ: Owner of buildings linked to potentially toxic chemicals has long history of battling Detroit officials