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Concerning Information
The stormwater detention pond was tested in April 2020 and contained PFOS well above allowable concentrations. The pond drains to Johnson Creek.
The Conservancy Initiative has learned some very disturbing news. In April 2020, Arbor Hills Landfill sampled the main stormwater detention pond for PFAS contamination as part of their investigation into PFAS groundwater contamination at the landfill. The samples revealed up to 33 times the allowable level of Perfluorooctane suffonate (PFOS)[1]. This material has been allowed to discharge directly into Johnson Creek and potentially may be continuing today.
The Conservancy Initiative is not aware of any response measures taken by the landfill. We have reported this information to the Water Resource Division of EGLE, Jackson District Office and they agree this is a violation of the landfill’s stormwater permit and should have been promptly reported. We are hopeful additional sampling has been conducted and this is an anomaly, but we are awaiting a response from the landfill to EGLE.
We are publishing this information promptly, as we believe the community deserves to know. There will be follow-ups as more information becomes available.
Background
In this report, we use the acronyms PFAS and PFOS. PFAS refers to a large family of chemicals, Per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances which are man-made chemicals that includes PFOA, PFOS, GenX, and many other chemicals. PFOS refers to a specific chemical, Perfluorooctane sulfonate, which is a regulated in Michigan as a water contaminate.
In March 2020, representatives from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), the Michigan PFAS Response Team (MPART) and the Michigan Department of Health and Human Services (MHHDS) held a townhall (virtually) to inform the community of PFAS contamination found in a shallow groundwater well on the eastern perimeter of the Arbor Hills Landfill (AHL). During the townhall, the community was told that testing of wells downgradient determined the contamination appeared to be contained to the area around the single well. Additional actions were being planned to identify the source and remediate the area.
In June of 2020, The Conservancy Initiative learned of two ponds on the southern end of the Arbor Hills Landfill property which were contaminated with PFAS chemicals. The contamination occurred when fire suppressing foam ran into the ponds during a fire at the recycling facility on the site in 2016. AHL was making plans to treat the contaminated water on-site and had applied for a permit to discharge the treated material to Johnson Creek. These plans were put on hold when the public spoke out in opposition.
Since learning of the contaminated ponds, The Conservancy Initiative has made regular phone calls and written letters to EGLE leadership to emphasize the need for prompt remediation actions and stress the importance of Johnson Creek to our community. Unfortunately, little has been done.
In February of this year, The Conservancy Initiative Board and Northville Township Leadership met with leadership from GFL. At this meeting, GFL was asked about the PFAS contamination but provided a very incomplete response. GFL indicated they were still coming up to speed with the issues that exist at the facility.
Stormwater drains from the landfill through an unnamed tributary to Johnson Creek and enters Johnson Creek near Ridge Road. This picture taken approximately 1/2 mile east of the landfill.
This week we learned of the PFAS investigation including the additional testing performed in April 2020 through a Freedom of Information Request. We immediately contacted personnel from the Water Resource Division (WRD) of EGLE to report our findings with the hope that we were misunderstanding the contractor’s report. The WRD confirmed the sampling locations were from the stormwater detention pond and agreed the information should have been immediately reported.
Johnson Creek is one of the few cold-water streams in southeastern Michigan. It runs through downtown Northville, then eventually feeds into the Rouge River. The Rouge River feeds into the Detroit River, which supplies a portion of the area’s drinking water.
Many more questions will need to be answered and we intend to follow-up to find these answers.
[1] Two samples of the stormwater detention pond located at Napier Road north of the railroad tracks taken on 4/2/2020 contained 94 ng/l and 400 ng/l of PFOS. (EGLE Rule 57 limit for PFOS in surface water / non-drinking water is 12 ng/l.)