Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel has filed a lawsuit against two Wixom-based automotive suppliers for allegedly continuing to release of harmful chemicals into the Huron River after multiple violation notices.
The companies are Tribar Technologies Inc. and Adept Plastic Finishing Inc. The lawsuit claims that although the Wixom facilities have been shut down, there is still a dangerous amount of contamination coming from their stormwater outputs.
Neither company responded to a request for comment.
The facilities closed this past April after the companies were sold. This happened only a few weeks before Tribar was sentenced in federal court for releasing 10,000 gallons of insufficiently treated wastewater into the Wixom sewer system in 2022. The federal court ordered Tribar to pay $200,000 in criminal fines and serve probation.
Although Tribar had PFAS filtration systems installed in 2018, the state's lawsuit claims the company did not do enough to prevent chemicals from reaching the Huron River through storm runoff, and says Tribar has had four violation notices from the state Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy since 2018.
“Michigan’s environmental laws exist to protect the air we breathe and the water we use from toxic chemicals,” said Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel. “When companies cut corners or violate these protections, my office will use every tool available to hold them accountable and ensure proper cleanup and compliance."
