EPA reaches agreement with Gelman Sciences on Michigan aquifer contamination

CHICAGO, Oct 23 — The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) announced a legal agreement with Gelman Sciences LLC to address contaminated soil and groundwater in Ann Arbor and Scio Townships in Michigan, setting responsibilities for long-term remedial planning and near-term response actions.

Under the agreement, known as an administrative settlement agreement and order on consent, the company must excavate soils contaminated with 1,4-dioxane from the former burn pit area on its property. It must also increase groundwater extraction and treatment rates in the eastern groundwater plume and install additional groundwater monitoring wells, EPA said. The company must conduct a remedial investigation and feasibility study and provide grant funding for community groups to hire an independent technical advisor.

The 1,4-dioxane groundwater plume is approximately three miles long and one mile wide and has migrated into aquifers that supply drinking water, according to EPA. The agency finalized adding the site to the National Priorities List in March 2026 and said it will host a public meeting later this fall.