Nonetheless, acting as a good neighbor, salt usage at the Milford Proving Ground has been reduced by 60% over the last two decades and GM submits regular reports on the groundwater quality at the Milford Proving Ground to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.”.
She said water tests, conducted by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) in June, found increased levels of arsenic and sodium chloride in her home.
I have health issues as a result of the contamination.” In 2005, Moore received a letter from the MDEQ that bottled water would be supplied.
The lawsuit states this is when McNamee, Porter and Seeley, a Michigan engineering firm, conducted a water study for GM that included evaluation of the source and extent of chloride contamination, existing water consumption and future demands, and possible locations for new water supply wells.
The lawsuit states that after receiving the study results, GM did not disclose the contamination to regulatory authorities or local residents, reduce salt usage, or monitor the groundwater and surface water contamination.
In May 1998, according to the suit, the MDEQ sent the subdivision developer a letter stating that chloride and sodium levels were above the drinking water requirement and that the reason was due to a source northeast of the subdivision.
On March 7, 2014, according to the lawsuit, Conestoga-Rovers Associates submitted to the MDEQ, GM’s 2013 Annual Salt Usage and Monitoring Report which acknowledged 18,414 tons of salt was used at the proving grounds from 2007 through 2013.
That same year, the lawsuit states that nearby water sources showed levels of sodium and chloride concentrations at 630 mg/l and 1,300 mg/l, which exceeded residential groundwater criteria of 160 mg/l for sodium and 250 mg/l for total chloride.
The suit alleges that until October 2014, when GM issued the migration notices to residents admitting contamination, and despite reports citing sodium chloride contamination for more than 30 years, GM actively concealed and ignored the level of pollutants leaching into neighboring groundwater and drinking water sources.
According to the lawsuit, pollution stemmed from as much as 7,430 tons of salt, concentrated in a six-square-mile area, used by the proving grounds to maintain roads and other testing areas at the facility.