ANN ARBOR TOWNSHIP β’ DECEMBER 2025First They Stole
Our Water.
Now They're Polluting It.
On December 15, 2025, three courageous families filed suit to stop illegal mining operations that are devastating our drinking water and the environment.
βΈ» We are not the plaintiffsβwe are the community standing behind them.THE PATTERN OF DESTRUCTIONHow We Got Here
The Theft
2022 β 2023Mid-Michigan Materials (MMM) pumped 1.1 billion gallons of clean water out of our aquifer. Wells ran dry across the township. The Township won a temporary halt to the pumping, and then immediately stayed the case. It was later revealed that despite filing a legal claim of ignorance, Township officials knew about the dewatering the entire time.
The Pollution
2023 β PresentWhen the court stopped the pumping, MMM switched tactics. They illegally created a 15-acre lake to mine the bottomlands. They never created seepage ponds. They are dredging and are dumping untreated mine wastewater directly into the lake and our aquifer. They plan to expand the wastewater lake to 59 acres.
Mining Without a Local Permit
Their Conditional Use Permit expired July 20, 2025. Rather than halt operations as promised, the Township arranged an administrative stay allowing MMM to continue mining without a local permit. The Township sided with the polluters.
Clear Tap Water Turned Brown
Residents up to three miles away now deal with brown tap water, water filters that turn dark black in days, ruined water softeners, choking sulfur odors, corroded pressure tanks, and failed well pumpsβcosting thousands of dollars.
βWeβre Already Doing Itβ
At the July 21, 2025 public hearing, MMM stated they were "already" doing what they were seeking permission to doβadmitting to ongoing illegal operations while permit applications pend for years.
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The Result: A dying lake, fouled wells, and ongoing violations of state environmental law.
THE PATTERN OF DESTRUCTIONWhatβs There Now
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The Unpermitted Lake
This ERSI Wayback satellite timelapse (2014β2025) shows the transforming from a family mining operation into a massive 15-acre wastewater lake. This wasn't a natural eventβit was an industrial decision made without a state permit or hydrological study.
In May 2025, EGLE reclassified this waterbody as an "A-1d Impoundment": an Industrial / Commercial Wastewater Treatment Facility. Filled with mine slurry and sediment, it sits just 120 yards from residential drinking water wells. MMM plans to expand this wastewater pit to 59 acres over the next 20 years.
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"Zero Violationsβ
While Ann Arbor Township officials insisted there were "zero violations," this was happening three miles away. This footage shows a slurry pipe discharging thousands of gallons of untreated mining wastewater directly into the unpermitted lake.
This process ommited the required engineered seepage ponds, creating a 15-acre industrial waste pit that is in direct hydraulic connection with the aquifer that provides drinking water to our homes.
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The Law is Clear: No Dredging Without a Permit
Michigan law (MCL 324.30102) leaves no room for interpretation:
(1) Except as provided in this part, a person without a permit from the department shall not do any of the following:
(a) Dredge or fill bottomland.
Despite this explicit prohibition, MMM is doing exactly thatβdredging the bottomland of an unpermitted lake. The law says "shall not." MMM is doing it anyway.
FROM PERMIT TO LAWSUITTimeline of Events
COMMUNITY DOCUMENTATIONWhat We've Witnessed
Photos and observations documented by impacted residents
βΉοΈ These photos were taken by community members to document conditions in their neighborhood and home. For official court filings and exhibits, see Legal Documents.
The 2023 Brown Out
After heavy rains on August 28, 2023, Lake Massey turned a murky chocolate brown for the first time in its documented history. Over 76 tons of suspended solidsβmining sediment illegally dumped into protected wetlands via Outfall 001Aβwashed downstream into the lake. This wasn't a natural event.
It Keeps Happening
Nearly two years later, the pattern continues. After heavy storms, Lake Massey still turns brown as accumulated mine sediment from the wetlands flushes into the water. This April 6, 2025 aerial photo shows the lake's ecosystem under chronic stressβthe same stress documented in August 2023, July 2024, and multiple events since.
Groundwater Under Pressure
This white, milky substance covering Lake Massey on October 4, 2025 is calcium carbonate from deep groundwater being forced upward through natural springs in the lakebed. When MMM drained the aquifer during dewatering, they suppressed these springs. This upwelling shows the direct hydraulic connection between MMM's operations and Lake Massey's degradation.
The Upwelling
The white calcium carbonate coating Lake Massey on October 4, 2025 is physical evidence of groundwater upwelling from natural springs in the lakebedβsprings that were suppressed during 15 months of intensive mine dewatering. As the unpermitted lake grows, these springs are forcing anoxic groundwater rich in dissolved minerals and iron back to the surface.
Brown Tap Water & Black Filters
These are images from households up to 3 miles from the pit. Since 2023, over 30 families have reported new water quality issues that never existed before: tap water that runs brown, filters that turn jet black within days, rust stains that won't come off, and sulfur odors so strong residents have to open the windows when they turn on the tap.
Iron Sludge & Ruined Systems
The rust and sediment doesn't just stain fixturesβit destroys expensive home water systems. These images show pressure tanks corroded from the inside out, water softeners clogged with iron and rendered irreparable, and water heaters filled with sediment deposits. Families who never had water issues before 2023 are now replacing equipment that should have lasted decades.
Dredging Without a Permit
Under Michigan law (Part 301), dredging a lake larger than 5 acres requires a permit. This image shows the operator violating that law. In a September 13, 2024 email, EGLE explicitly confirmed that the pit had become a "surface water > 5 acres" and that the operator's "current excavation operation" constituted "dredging within a lake... and an enlargement of a lake." Despite this official confirmation of regulated activity, the dredging work continued.
π°οΈ Itβs Visible from Space!
You don't just have to take our word for itβthe satellites were watching. Historical imagery from Google Earth and ESRI Wayback proves the operator began mining in 2021 before obtaining state permits and never built the seepage pond they promised. The images clearly show the operator cutting un-engineered channels to dump sediment-laden water directly into the aquifer, and using heavy equipment to mine in the water. Both practices are visible from space.
COURT FILINGS & OFFICIAL RECORDSOfficial Case Documents
Court filings, EGLE records, and permit applications
Resident Lawsuit
Darish et al. v. WSG Properties β’ Dec 2025Full Complaint (Dec 15, 2025)
Township Lawsuit
Case No. 23-001234-CE β’ Sept 2023Verified Complaint
Motion for TRO
Preliminary Injunction Order
Stipulated Orders
EGLE Violations & Permits
State Environmental RecordsViolation Notice VN-014898
Permit Application v1 (Dec 2023)
Permit Application v2 (May 2025)
Public Hearing Transcript
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Document Archive: Court documents, EGLE filings, and permit applications are maintained by Great Lakes Law.