More than two years ago, the Northville Township Trustees authorized Mark Abbo, the Northville Township Supervisor, to take legal actions if the Arbor Hills Landfill did not make meaningful changes to address the landfill’s negative impacts on Johnson Creek, their sanitary sewer violations, and the persistent noxious landfill odors that have been plagued the residents of Northville Township for years. On November 10, 2021, the township filed a lawsuit in the 3rd Circuit Court of Michigan in Detroit. In May of this year, an amended complaint was filed on behalf of the Township and included two Northville Township residents as co-plaintiffs. The addition of the Northville Township residents to the lawsuit strengthens Northville Township’s and its resident’s position.
The Township’s original lawsuit was filed after the Michigan Attorney General sued the landfill for violating state environmental laws. A settlement in the Attorney General’s lawsuit was announced in March 2022 and required certain actions to address the air quality issues, but community odor complaints have continued at unacceptable levels (see chart below). In addition to the continuing odors, the Attorney General's lawsuit did not address the PFAS contamination, the PFAS impacts on Johnson Creek, the persistent sanitary sewer violations, and other landfill issues.
The Conservancy Initiative supports the efforts of Northville Township leadership and residents. For more information on the problems and issues created by the landfill’s operations, please feel free to visit The Conservancy’s Initiative website https://conservancyinitiative.org/. For information about possibly joining the lawsuit contact The Mike Cox Law offices at (734) 591-4002.