Two Macomb County men pleaded no contest to misdemeanor hazardous waste crimes related to a February 2024 spill into Bear Creek in Warren that temporarily turned the creek a bright greenish-blue.
Saad Somo, 50, of Washington Township, and Marvan Talal-Razooqi Batoo, 40, of Shelby Township, pleaded no contest July 3 in Warren’s 37th District Court before Judge John Chmura to the following charges:
The Michigan Department of Natural Resources agreed with the final plea offer only after the men cooperated with the DNR; the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in rectifying the spill, Macomb County Prosecutor Peter Lucido said in a statement. As a result of their cooperation, an earlier charge of Water Resources Protection Violation, a two-year felony, against each man was dismissed after the Attempt Water Resources Protection Violation charge was added, Lucido said.
Somo and Batoo were required to pay more than $172,000 in remediation costs, and Judge Chmura also sentenced each man to pay fines, costs, and a special assessment totaling $3,500. The judge denied Assistant Prosecuting Attorney Lisa Lozen’s request that the two men also receive probation.
The pleas are the result of an investigation initiated after Bear Creek in Warren turned a bright florescent green/blue in early February 2024. The source of the contamination was found to be a former metal finishing commercial building in Warren owned by Somo and Batoo, the former Fini-Finish Metal Finishing electroplating shop at 24657 Mound Road. The building was not heated, resulting in frozen water lines breaking and stored chemicals being spilled. Somo and Batoo disposed of the chemicals through a storm drain.
EGLE and EPA investigators quickly determined that the creek contamination posed no immediate human health risk and did not impact any drinking water supplies, but that aquatic organisms in the creek may have been harmed.
“Reckless handling of hazardous chemicals poses a serious threat to both public health and our environment,” Lucido said. “My office is committed to aggressively prosecuting environmental crimes and holding offenders fully accountable.
“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.”
Contact Keith Matheny: kmatheny@freepress.com.
This story was updated to add a video.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Macomb County men sentenced in spill that turned Bear Creek in Warren vivid blue-green
Reporting by Keith Matheny, Detroit Free Press / Detroit Free Press
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