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Conlin to Rule in Gelman Case

Conlin to Rule in Gelman Case image
Parent Issue
Day
21
Month
February
Year
1991
Copyright
Copyright Protected
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Donated by the Ann Arbor News. © The Ann Arbor News.
OCR Text

Conlin to rule in Gelman case

Judge promises decision in contamination suit within 45 days

By KARL LEIF BATES

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

Circuit Court Judge Patrick J. Conlin promised Wednesday that he will reach some sort of decision in the next 45 days on the state’s case against Gelman Sciences.

After 15 months of on-again, off-again litigation, the attorney general and the defense for the Scio Township filter maker have finally run out of arguments — unless Conlin decides the case should resume with the defense calling its first witness.

The state, on behalf of the Department of Natural Resources, sued Gelman Sciences in 1988 to order a cleanup of groundwater and soil contamination under and around the Wagner Road factory. A solvent the firm used to make micro-porous filters, 1,4-dioxane, has been found in wells up to a mile from the plant.

Assistant Attorney General Robert Reichel has finished calling his witnesses and has asked Conlin to order the cleanup. He said Wednesday that rather than waiting months or years for the defense to present its side of the case, the judge should order a cleanup now before the contamination spreads farther north and west from the plant.

Gelman Sciences attorney David H. Fink has asked Conlin to throw the case out. Fink criticized Reichel’s proposed cleanup order because it leaves open specific details such as how many wells would be used to recover tainted groundwater and how fast they should pump.

“The broad definitions here are guaranteed to lead to conflicts between the parties,” Fink said. “It’s inevitable that the DNR will disagree with our (cleanup) proposal and we’ll end up right back here (in court).”

Conlin said he would review the case record and issue some form of decision in writing “as soon as possible.”