DETROIT – The owner of the Madison Heights building linked to green ooze that seeped onto I-696 has finally started to clean up his worrisome Detroit property after months of pressure from city and state officials.
The battle between Gary Sayers and officials has been going on for months. Officials with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy and the city of Detroit have been working to get him to clean up his property on Commonwealth Street so important environmental testing can begin.
Officials said the mess, the debris and the trash is slowly being cleaned up at the site, which is just blocks from Henry Ford Hospital.
Crews were on the property this week with the goal of making it safe for testing.
EGLE and Detroit officials said Sayers ignored repeated calls about getting the work done over the last several months.
But when EGLE and Detroit teamed up to put the pressure on Sayers, it apparently worked.
“Given the history of the Commonwealth site and EGLE’s commitment to protecting public health and the environment, it’s important for us to move forward with soil and groundwater testing,” an EGLE spokesperson told Help Me Hank. “Any clearing of debris on the property helps facilitate our ability to assess the site for possible contamination.”
Sayers is also battling state and city leaders in Madison Heights, where green ooze seeped from his building and onto I-696. That’s when Sayers’ environmental problems first hit the radar.
He has been in a battle to keep his building. Testing and cleanup at the Madison Heights site are ongoing.