ROCKFORD, MI -- In January, a group of concerned citizens gave evidence to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality that a forgotten Wolverine World Wide dump in Belmont was likely a source of drinking water contamination at nearby homes.

That old landfill is located on House Street NE.

"They had some very good information," David O'Donnell, West Michigan field operations manager for the DEQ remediation division, told the crowd at Rockford High School on Wednesday at a townhall meeting on the Wolverine pollution investigation.

But, despite years of Wolverine investigation groundwork laid by the Concerned Citizens for Responsible Remediation of Rockford (CCRR), the group says Kent County Health Department denied a requested seat on the meeting stage after being initially receptive.

The group is worried the public's voice is not officially represented in the investigation into per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances named PFAS (or PFCs) that state and local officials acknowledge would never have started were it not for the group's work.

"We want to be that voice," said A.J. Birkbeck, an attorney representing the concerned citizens group.

Birkbeck said the group wants more formalized community involvement with the Wolverine investigation across several townships in northern Kent County. The company has tested more than 1,000 wells for PFAS to date after the plume coming from the House Street dump was confirmed earlier this year.

CCRR would like to see something along the lines of a Superfund Community Advisory Group (CAG), which the Environmental Protection Agency uses as the "focal point for the exchange of information" between authorities and the community in a cleanup.

"Part of any good investigation and remedial process is community interaction," Birkbeck said. "That interaction has been, we believe, inadequate in the present instance."

"What we really need is the ability for the community to ask questions of Wolverine and regulators in real time," he said. "When information is relayed, let there be a channel of communication back to regulators and responsible parties with the concerns of the community."

Birkbeck said CCRR's goals are simply ensuring that everyone is drinking safe, clean water and that Wolverine and the state complete a thorough investigation and cleanup of all contaminated sites where tannery waste was dumped.

"We're not seeking to litigate against any corporate entity, individual or regulatory body," he said. "Our goals are limited and, I think, aligned with what regulators are seeking."

Birkbeck said CCRR is feeling marginalized and sidelined in the investigation despite providing state and local authorities key evidence that brought the PFAS public health threat to light.

Group members were instrumental in gathering research that led to a PFAS fish advisory in the Rogue River near the tannery, he said.

Rick Rediske, an environmental chemistry professor advising CCRR, raised the alarm with DEQ about PFAS in 3M Scotchgard that Wolverine used to waterproof Hush Puppies shoes at the tannery following a meeting with Wolverine attorneys brokered by the West Michigan Environmental Action Council in August 2016.

Wolverine later said it was in "fall 2016" it "first learned that PFOS may have been present in compounds used at its former tannery in Rockford," an assertion undercut recently by 3M's release of documents that show Wolverine was specifically advised Scotchgard contained toxic PFAS chemistry in 1999.

Rediske and CCRR met with DEQ in January and passed along an interview with Earl Tefft, a former Bell Pick-Up disposal driver who says he drove tannery sludge to House Street, the State Disposal Landfill and an old dump at 4400 12 Mile Road NE.

The group provided other suspected waste locations that formed the initial list of Wolverine dump sites the DEQ is now investigating.

Birkbeck said the 100-plus member group formed as the tannery was being demolished back in 2010. Group members petitioned the EPA to review the site for inclusion on the toxic Superfund list.

The DEQ has overseen the Rockford tannery site since 2012, when the EPA decided not to designate the property as a Superfund site partly at the urging of Rockford city officials, local business development leaders and Lansing representatives who wanted to expand the downtown commercial district onto the property.

In 2012, the Rockford Economic Development Corporation characterized CCRR as aggressive "minority voices" threatening Rockford economic prosperity by demanding scrutiny on the tannery grounds and the former Burch Body Works property development, which has since been tied up in court for several years.

Birkbeck said group members' stance at odds with city and business leaders resulted in some other small-town intimidation tactics in the past. Since then, "frankly, we have been keeping a low-profile and have been in information gathering mode."

When Kent County Health Department announced plans to hold a second townhall meeting on the Wolverine pollution, Birkbeck requested CCRR representation on the panel.

On Tuesday, the group was told that wasn't possible.

DEQ spokesperson Melanie Brown said she was told there were questions raised as to why CCRR deserved a seat.

In a statement, Wolverine only said it "was aware that KCHD received a request related to the group's potential participation."

Plainfield Township Superintendent Cameron Van Wyngarden said he objected with the health department to any advocacy group having a seat on the dais. Although the township was not represented on the panel, it was consulted with prior to the meeting.

Van Wyngarden said his objection was not specific to CCRR, a group with which he said he has not no contact. Plainfield Township has been sharply criticized by a new group, Demand Action, which helped pack a board meeting Monday with residents upset at low levels of PFAS and other contaminants in township water.

"Once you start crossing that thresholds, where do you draw the line," Van Wyngarden said. "Which advocacy group do you allow up and which one don't you?"

"I would set a very firm line at no advocacy groups."

Adam London, administrative health officer at KCHD, confirmed at the meeting the health department welcomed the idea of having CCRR on the stage, but ended up acquiescing to objections.

London indicated he considers the group to be credible.

"I have found the citizens group to be well-informed and knowledgeable about PFAS and committed to finding solutions," London said. "Their membership includes reputable environmental professionals. They have information and perspectives which need to be considered by everyone involved."