Macomb County business owners ordered to pay fines for Bear Creek chemical spill
Saad Somo (left) and Marvan Talal-Razooqi Batoo (right)
WARREN, Mich. (FOX 2) - Two men who owned a business that leaked chemicals into Bear Creek must pay fines after taking plea deals this week.
In February 2024, chemicals from a former metal finishing building in Warren leaked into the creek, causing it to turn blue.
The backstory:
According to the Macomb County Prosecutor, the building is owned by Saad Somo, 50, of Washington Township, and Marvan Talal-Razooqi Batoo, 40, from Shelby Township, was unheated. This caused water lines to freeze, break, and spill stored chemicals. Authorities said the men disposed of the chemicals in a storm drain.
The men were offered plea deals after cooperating with the Michigan Department of Environment Great Lakes and Energy, Department of Natural Resources and the Environmental Protection Agency to clean up the spill, which included paying more than $172,000 in remediation costs.
Dig deeper:
"Reckless handling of hazardous chemicals poses a serious threat to both public health and our environment. My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting environmental crimes and holding offenders fully accountable," said Macomb County Prosecutor Pete Lucido. "In this case, the defendants took responsibility by cleaning up the contamination they caused. Their cooperation and remediation efforts spared taxpayers the burden of cleanup costs and were appropriately considered in the resolution of the charges."
After Somo and Batoo pleaded no contest to four misdemeanors: operating a hazardous waste facility without a license, hazardous waste - generator and facility operator records, general violations of liquid industrial waste, and attempted water resource protection violation charges, both men were ordered to each pay $3,500 in fines, costs, and a special assessment.
As part of the pleas, felony charges of water resources protection violations were dropped.
According to a press release from Lucido's office, the prosecutor on the case did argue that the men should also receive probation time, but that was declined by the judge.
The Source: This information is from the Macomb County Prosecutor's Office.