MADISON HEIGHTS, MI — Michigan legislators approved $600,000 on Thursday to help demolish an industrial site that leaked toxic green slime that eventually appeared on a Detroit highway.

The fate of Electro-Plating Services site in Madison Heights is tied up in litigation in Oakland County court, The Associated Press reports. Demolition and clean up are estimated to cost more than $1 million, Madison Heights City Manager Melissa Marsh said.

The toxic pollution affects the entire region, she said, calling the state appropriation “a win for all involved.”

The state closed Electro-Plating Services in 2016 after decades of chemical mismanagement. The business operated for nearly 50 years. Federal prosecutors tried the former owner Gary Sayers; he was sentenced to one-year in prison in 2019 for illegally storing hazardous waste, and told to pay $1.4 million in restitution.

Gov. Whitmer exploring criminal charges for ‘green ooze’ polluter

The green goo appeared in late December after it ran down an embankment and broke through a retaining wall on eastbound I-696. It had migrating through soil from the former Electro-Plating Services buildings on 10 Mile Road, just yards from the highway. The ooze, first noticed by drivers, was identified as a chemical mix that includes the cancer-causing hexavalent chromium along with trichloroethylene (TCE) and cyanide.

Watch for ‘green ooze’ slowdowns on I-696 as lane stays closed for contaminant testing

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency is working on a remediation plan for the property, the report said.

EPA declined to pursue cleanup of factory responsible for green ‘ooze’ on I-696

READ MORE:

Friday, March 13: Latest developments on coronavirus in Michigan

All Michigan schools to close as coronavirus spreads, Gov. Gretchen Whitmer announces

Staying home because of coronavirus? Here’s everything you’ll need

Possible coronavirus exposure locations named across Michigan

Michigan confirms 12 total coronavirus cases