KALAMAZOO, MI (WKZO AM/FM) — It’s official, at least for this round.
The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy has finalized its latest round of enforcement action at Graphic Packaging.
The Consent Order follows a round of public hearings and additional time added on for public comment.
Jason Wolf in EGLE’s Enforcement Division had this to say.
Specifically, the plant has been required to add continuous emission monitoring systems and other alterations to its PaperBoard Machine boilers, and GPI has been slapped with a fine of just under $120,000 for violations.
It’s the latest in a string of complaints and actions, and they say they are monitoring and accepting complaints about new potential violations.
A lawsuit is still pending, filed by nearby residents because of concerns that the emissions are causing health problems in the community.
GPI claims that the city of Kalamazoo is also culpable if true, because they also emit sulfur dioxide from the Waste Treatment Plant.
The city allowed this company after knowing about the problems for over 10 years or let’s just say when Bobby Hopewell was the mayor and no one thought it was important enough to let the residents know about what was going on this has been a problem we’ve complained about at least on our street for 30 plus years and no one ever followed up it is a shame that our health is just considered so and consequential and the health of our children and our future on the North side is held with no regards they want us gone so they can mark the prices of the houses that we got up here now that’s been redlined so then the city can make more money off taxes but we’re not going anywhere because all we’re asking for is a clean environment we pay property taxes like everybody else but yet the city has not even came to even go door to door to ask us what our pain and problems are the local news none of y’all have covered this y’all come out once every 6 months wants to report comes out but I’ve challenged the city to come the mayor the commissioners to get in one of these houses that’s for sale to stay for a week so you can see what we wake up to every day feeling sick nauseated dizzy it’s it’s crazy that I don’t even feel safe in my grandkids on this side of town please could y’all please just think of us as if we were your family we’re not asking to shut the factory down we just asking them to do the right thing and also to pay what they owe because they put a lot of pain and suffering on the north side they don’t even offer free turkeys for the neighborhoods on the holidays how sad is that