(Photo11: Matthew Dae Smith/Lansing State Journal) Two weeks after the Rosenbrooks left Independence Commons, the state’s Department of Environmental Quality cited Potterville for numerous violations at its wastewater treatment plant.
Potterville hadn’t submitted an adequate groundwater monitoring plan to the state, according to the DEQ violation, and the city didn’t have a properly certified operator overseeing its wastewater treatment plant.
The Rosenbrooks and two other families filed a lawsuit Jan. 9 against the city of Potterville and Independence Commons.
Alexis Rosenbrook said her family left their manufactured home at Independence Commons because they believed the environment and the water there were making them sick.
Vahdat said testing was done in the Independence Commons community that indicated the drinking water was contaminated with coliform.
She notified the city and the community’s management about her concerns numerous times, she said.
“We did have some odor,” he said.
The DEQ’s Bennett said municipalities are responsible for monitoring the condition of a plant’s lagoons and a facility’s odor.
Bussard said the DEQ has inspected the city’s wastewater plant numerous times since 2008, but never indicated the plant presented a danger to nearby residents’ health.
Vahdat said one of the strongest cases for concern is the letter from Clayton Rosenbrook’s doctor.