Madison Heights green goo site to be demolished; owner to leave prison early

MADISON HEIGHTS (AP) — The owner of an industrial building that released green goo along a Detroit-area interstate is leaving prison early because of the risk of the coronavirus.

Gary Sayers, who is in his 70s, was sentenced to a year in prison last fall for illegally storing hazardous waste at Electro-Plating Services in Madison Heights.

Sayers, who is being held at a federal prison in West Virginia, will be placed on home confinement under a U.S. Justice Department policy that’s being applied to certain older inmates during the virus pandemic, prosecutors in Detroit said.

Electro-Plating was shut down by state regulators in 2016 due to mismanagement of industrial waste, after nearly 50 years of operation.

In late December, drivers on Interstate 696 saw a brightly colored goo seeping through a concrete barrier along the shoulder. It apparently migrated through soil from Electro-Plating.

Separately, a judge on Thursday said the site can be demolished. Madison Heights City Manager Melissa Marsh said she’ll work with state and federal regulators on the next steps.