Erin Brockovich speaks during a November 2016 luncheon in Flint.

GRAND RAPIDS, MI - A legal team working with consumer advocate Erin Brockovich is bringing a class action lawsuit in federal court against three companies on behalf of residents affected by toxic dumping in Kent County.

The complaint filed against Wolverine World Wide, 3M and Waste Management was announced in a press release from the legal team of Michigan-based The Miller Law Firm, California's Robbins Geller Rudman & Dowd, and New York's Weitz & Luxenberg.

The complaint alleges the companies dumped toxic waste and polluted groundwater in Belmont, Rockford and other areas of Kent County. It seeks "immediate blood testing, monitoring, and damages for residents who have been harmed by the pollution," according to the release.

Brockovich, who works as a consultant for Weitz & Luxenberg on certain projects, issued a statement and expects to join the three firms at a community meeting for residents later this month.

"The scope of this contamination is alarming, and thousands in Kent County are now faced with unsafe drinking water and increased health risks," Brockovich said in the statement. "This lawsuit puts these corporations on notice that they will be held accountable for their actions and should make it clear to other corporate polluters that they can't get away with poisoning our water."

Wolverine said in a statement it does not comment on ongoing litigation.

Tanisha Sanders, director of government affairs and communications for Waste Management, responded to the lawsuit's filing in a statement.

"Waste Management is aware of the class action lawsuit being filed and will respond accordingly via the court system," Sanders said in the statement.

William A. Brewer III, partner at Brewer, Attorneys & Counselors and counsel for 3M, responded on the company's behalf.

"Under Michigan law, we believe 3M has no liability for any damages allegedly caused by Wolverine's manufacturing and waste disposal practices," Brewer said in a statement. "3M never manufactured or disposed of PFC-containing materials in Michigan. We believe this lawsuit lacks merit."

He pointed to a document that shows Wolverine WorldWide and 3M met in 1999 to discuss the presence of PFOS in products sold by 3M, undercutting previous claims by the local company.

The manufacturing giant faces another lawsuit connected to chemicals manufactured and dumped, resulting in contaminated drinking water, in Minnesota. That lawsuit was filed in 2010 by Minnesota Attorney General Lori Swanson.

was filed on Dec. 1 in the U.S. District Court Western District, naming eight plaintiffs, each identified as current or former residents affected by the contamination of drinking water in the area. It claims the federal court has jurisdiction in the case under the Class Action Fairness Act because the total claims of class members exceed $5 million.

The case centers around the per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances named PFAS (or PFCs) in 3M Scotchgard that Wolverine used for decades to make Hush Puppies shoes at the company's former Rockford tannery, demolished in 2010.

Rediscovery of a forgotten 1960s-era landfill on House Street NE in Belmont this year sparked an expanding investigation into Wolverine's waste disposal around the northern Grand Rapids suburbs. Next door to the House Street dump, drinking water wells are polluted at levels far above the EPA's health level advisory level for PFOS and PFOA. The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality is also investigating Wolverine's dumping in Plainfield Township in connection to PFAS chemicals found at low levels in the township municipal water system, which serves 40,000 people.

The lawsuit accuses Waste Management of failing to properly maintain the State Disposal Landfill it owns through a subsidiary. The landfill, located at 3954 East Beltline Ave. NE, is a Superfund site and a known Wolverine dump site.

Brockovich first signaled her interest in the Kent County issue in an Oct. 24 Facebook post.

Be very careful... anyone coming around door-to-door offering you reduced price testing or home water treatment systems... Posted by Erin Brockovich on Tuesday, October 24, 2017

Brockovich has also taken on the issue of PFAS contamination elsewhere in Michigan, assisting a group of veterans who say they've been poisoned the toxic chemicals found in firefighting foam used at Wurtsmith Air Force Base in Oscoda.

The class action lawsuit filed in federal court Friday is not the first legal action taken by local residents.

Three complaints were filed against the company in Kent County Circuit Court on Tuesday, Nov. 28.

Sharon Almonrode, chair of the class action group at The Miller Law Firm, stressed the importance for the firms to work quickly to "identify the full scope of the contamination and force the companies to pay for the damage."

"A class action is the best way to obtain a legal recovery that will benefit everyone who's been harmed," Almonrode said in a statement. "Our team of attorneys has the commitment, experience, and resources to go toe-to-toe with these companies."

Brockovich plans to join the firms to help explain the process and answer questions from residents at a community meeting planned for the week of Dec. 11.

A precise time and date have not yet been announced. More information about the lawsuit, and a copy of the complaint itself, can be found on the firms' websites.