WHY THERE IS HOPE - Examples of Recent Successful Citizen Led Environmental Legal Victories
Detroit Hazardous waste facility settles with residents for $2.3 million over "horrific odor" 2026_01_22 (Liddle Sheets P.C.)
Flint Water Crisis settlement checks roll in as residents lament 12th anniversary_ 2026_04_22 (Class Action Settlement-LINK)
SW Detroiters Celebrate $100M Penalty, Clean Air Wins in EES Coke Ruling - 2026_02_17 (EarthJustice, GLELC)
Northern Michigan fruit processor sued over wastewater disposal, E. coli, arsenic - 2023_06_08 (GLELC)
Benton Harbor water crisis: Michigan government failures on many levels - 2021_11_12 (City Resident Class Action-LINK)
LINKS
INTRODUCTION - below
OVERALL LEGAL STRATEGY
Stage 1. MUNICIPAL LETTERS
1. Wayne County Prosecutor Kym L. Worthy - 2026_06_01
2. City of Wyandotte Attorney, Mayor, and City Council, - 2026_06_01
Stage 2. ENVIRONMENTAL ORGANIZATION LETTERS (NGOs)
For Love of Water- Liz Kirkwood
Sierra Club of Michigan-
Sierra Club - National Office Legal Department
Great Lakes Environmental Law Center Detroit - Nicolas Leonard Scott Troia
WaterKeepers Alliance - Detroit River Keeper Bob Burns
EarthJustice -
ELPC -
Michigan Environmental Council -
PEER -
PIRG -
Healing our Waters
Oil and Water Dont Mix
Great Lakes United
STAGE 3. TORT ATTORNEY LETTERS
Erin Brokovich PLLC
Exposure-PFAS Attorneys
Citizens of Flint Attorneys
Sugar Law - Detroit
STAGE 4.
TBD-
INTRODUCTION -
After five years of effort, 2021-2026....
There is no shaming, blaming, conversation, or letter writing that has stopped the ongoing BASF NorthWorks contamination being released into the Detroit River. There has been no Agency enforcement or groundwater monitoring effort initiated. For all the citizens and news articles and whistle-blower efforts, what there is to show for it is NOTHING...nothing but talk, EPA, EGLE. BASF documents exchanged back and forth- (hidden from the public), Newpaper articles and Social Media Posts, while BASF Northworks, under the oversight of State and Federal Agencies, continues to submit reports, but more importantly, continues releasing 57 gallons per minute of Toxic Hazardous Waste into the Detroit River and directly into the City of Wyandotte's Drinking Water Intake Critical Assessment Zone (CAZ). The "Effort" to date to stop BASFs contamination has not worked.
Politicians, the City of Wyandotte, the State, and the Federal Government refuse to actually protect human health and the environment and knowingly allow The Poisoning of the Great Lakes at Wyandotte, and Drinking Water Critical Assessment Zone of Wyandotte's Citizens.
This release of contamination has been known and documented, and even written about in internal State and Federal emails obtained by FOIA, since 1980. Every decade has had Concerned Citizens and Agency Whistle-blowers come forth with the most recent data that shows this is still continuing. BASF sits back, with no violations on their record, no enforcement action by the Agencies, and thus can state that it is "In Compliance" as far as they know. This is the arrangement, if you dont look - you wont see.
What the public reads in Agency response letters and hears at Townhalls is a whitewashed false narrative by State and Federal Officials who obfuscate and twist the truth, to prevent the panic that they know would ensue if the public knew the level of violation and contamination entering the Public Trust water from BASF Northworks. Nowhere else in the Great Lakes Region is such a release tolerated, especially above a Public Water Supply used for Drinking. This is worse than Flint.
BASF NorthWorks heavily contaminated venting groundwater discharge, at 57 gallons per minute, is in violation of Act 451 Parts 201, 111 and 31. It is above Final Acute Values (FAV) for numberous parameters, a Felony in Michigan. It is above the criteria for Liquid Hazardous Waste, also a Felony. Every manager involved with BASF at the Attorney Generals Office, EGLE, EPA ,BASF, and City of Wyandotte knows this, and have known for over 4 decades now.
Not only is BASF NorthWork's venting groundwater in violations of numerous State and Federal statutes, it is known to be in violation of a 1980 State Court Order, a 1985 Consent Decree signed in Federal Court, and a 1994 Administrative Order on Consent with the Federal Government that imparted Stipulated Penalties for Delay of a remedy. BASF agreed in writing in these Court Orders to stop all Toxic and Hazardous Waste releases from entering the Detroit River, by means of an Inward Gradient sufficient to Halt the flow of ALL contaminated groundwater to the Detroit River no later than December 31, 1986. This is a legally binding promise made by BASF, The State of Michigan, and the USEPA, in Court Documents.
This page is the start of the Legal effort to bring a Citizen led suit forward. Everything else has been tried. Its time to take this issue to Court and hold the State of Michigan, the USEPA, the City of Wyandotte, Wayne County, BASF Corp, and local legislators , fully accountable for the ongoing violations of state and federal laws and existing court orders.
What did you know, When did you know it, What did you do,
Where other generations tried writing letters, and raising voices, they eventually gave up and BASF continued to pollute.
No generation of citizens have brought these violations and abandonment of Public Trust to a jury of their peers.
Its Been Long Enough