Michigan health officials said there is no need for people and pets to continue to avoid contact with Huron River water.

The company responsible for a dangerous chemical release that threatened the Huron River system was served with multiple violation notices on Tuesday.

Asmus said when the pipe failed a black liquor was released to the wastewater treatment plant. Black liquor is a high-strength organic pollutant derived from the breakdown of pulpwood. The black liquor overwhelmed the facilitys wastewater treatment system causing effluent (outflow) violations, Asmus said. The wastewater system remained functional however, it was not capable of treating the black liquor entirely. Black liquor is a byproduct of a process at the mill, not a chemical purchased and stored on site for a specific purpose, Asmus said.