Diamond Chrome Plating, Inc., Livingston County
On January 21, 2004, Livingston County Circuit Court issued a court scheduling order providing for discovery to run until October 2004, a pre-hearing conference to occur in February 10, 2005, and non-trial to occur on March 7, 2005.
On October 22, 2003, the Department of Attorney General, on behalf of the DEQ, filed a civil lawsuit against Diamond Chrome Plating, Inc. (Diamond Chrome), located in the city of Howell, Livingston County. The complaint alleges that Diamond Chrome violated several environmental statutes related to hazardous waste management, storm water discharge requirements, air pollution control, and environmental remediation requirements. The complaint requests the court to order Diamond Chrome to operate its plant in compliance with all pertinent parts of the Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act (Act 451), to undertake all corrective actions or response activities necessary to ensure proper operation of the plant, and clean up the soils and groundwater. Investigations by the DEQ beginning in 2000 found hexavalent chromium in the Marion Genoa Drain and the Shiawassee River at a level that is acutely toxic to aquatic life. Continued investigation of Diamond Chrome revealed that the plant is at the upstream end of a storm sewer entering the Marion Genoa Drain and that there were no other known sources of chromium in the area.
The DEQ’s investigation documented releases of chromic acid from the plant’s air pollution control equipment and electroplating wastewater treatment sludge in a truck bay entrance, both of which were determined to be hazardous waste containing high levels of chromium. Additional investigations by both the DEQ and Diamond Chrome have documented soil and groundwater contamination at the plant site in excess of generic residential cleanup criteria established under Part 201, Environmental Remediation, of the Act 451 for several substances, including chromium, chlorinated solvents, and petroleum related compounds. The sources of the soil and groundwater contamination appear to be both the plating operations at the plant and two previously removed underground storage tanks used to store gasoline and diesel fuel at the site. Prior DEQ attempts to resolve these issues with Diamond Chrome have failed to produce an agreement.