2 Men Sentenced In Macomb County Chemical Spill: Prosecutor

WARREN, MI — Two men were sentenced last week for a chemical spill that turned a Macomb County creek bright blue, according to the prosecutor's office.

Saad Somo, 50, of Washington Township, and Marvan Talal-Razooqi Batoo, 40, were each charged with:

• Hazardous waste - Operating a facility without a license (one-year misdemeanor)
• Hazardous Waste - Generator and facility operator records (one-year misdemeanor)
• Liquid Industrial Waste – General violations (6-month misdemeanor)
• Attempt Water Resources Protection Violation (one-year misdemeanor)

As a result of their cooperation, prosecutors dropped an earlier charge of water resources protection violation, which is a two-year felony.

Both men pleaded no contest and were sentenced to serve probation and fines totaling $3,500, prosecutors said.

Somo and Batoo must also pay more than $172,000 in remediation costs to clean up the spill and cooperate with the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, prosecutors said.

The pleas come as the result of an investigation into what caused the Bear Creek in Warren to turn a bright fluorescent green/blue on Sunday, Feb. 11, 2024, prosecutors said.

Investigators determined the contamination was from 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.

Prosecutors said 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, prosecutors said.

"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 Peter J. 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."