Dearborn Scrapyard Will Spend $4M To Curb Air Pollution

DEARBORN, MI — A Dearborn trucking and scrapyard company will spend millions to curtail air pollution, following a legal settlement with city officials.

Pro-V Enterprises, LLC, located on Wyoming Avenue between Interstate 94 and Southern Avenue, will invest up to $4 million in improvements to its operations in order to mitigate air pollution by June 30, according to city officials.

In April 2023, officials accused the company of creating excessive amounts of "fugitive dust" that endangers the health of residents in the area.

Additionally, officials said the scrapyard, which is less than one mile from residential streets in Detroit and Dearborn, has been ticketed at least 16 times for violating the city’s fugitive dust ordinance.

That July, the company reached an initial settlement with the City to spend $1 million in improvements to its trucking and scrap processing operations to control fugitive dust emissions.

The new agreement will see the company spend a maximum of $4 million in total improvements, including:

• Planting 91 evergreen trees spanning 1,360 linear feet to help with water absorption, combat heat island effect, and further screen the property.
• Complete paving of all harmful industrial waste storage areas. This is to ensure no “track out” occurs into the Wyoming public right-of-way or creation of any fugitive dust. The goal of this requirement is to improve air quality by reducing airborne particulate matter that occurred from trucks loaded with waste driving on unpaved roads.
• Complete replacement of the stormwater management system to meet the State’s stringent clean surface water standards.
• Allowing the City of Dearborn Engineering Department to perform an annual inspection of the company's stormwater system to ensure they are remaining compliant and that the system is working properly.

The new agreement also requires that the company immediately reduce its operations under a prohibition of its continued encroachment onto an adjacent property.

"This is yet another important step in holding corporations responsible for environmental damage and public health impacts. The mandates from this new settlement are a victory for Dearborn residents, especially those in the Southend who have long been exposed to harmful industrial impact on air quality," Dearborn Mayor Abdullah H. Hammoud said.