ROCKFORD, MI — A legal battle over PFAS contamination in northern Kent County has returned to federal court, where Wolverine Worldwide is asking a judge to force state regulators to approve its cleanup work northwest of Rockford.
On Feb. 20, Wolverine filed a motion in U.S. District Court in Grand Rapids seeking an order that forces the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) to approve its work under terms of a 2020 court-approved consent decree.
The settlement governs Wolverine’s cleanup of toxic fluorochemicals used in leathermaking at its former Rockford tannery, which polluted a wide swath of northern Kent County starting in the late 1950s…