UPDATE: Jan. 16, 2018: The Environmental Protection Agency announced last week it was furthering its involvement in Wolverine World Wide tannery dump site in Michigan. 

EPA issued an administrative order to Wolverine, telling the company to test groundwater, river sediment and soil for arsenic, chromium, mercury and ammonia. Michigan has ordered Wolverine to address drinking water contamination.

The federal agency said it's working on a "coordinated enforcement approach" at the sites with the state government. The order from EPA includes some cleanup and fencing off and clearly marking affected areas.

Dive Brief:

• The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) began testing groundwater in Kent County, MI, last week, as reported by Wood TV. The EPA is searching for per- and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS) from Scotchguard used by Wolverine World Wide in producing shoes during past decades.
• The EPA is not, however, in charge of the investigation and cleanup activities surrounding the Wolverine World Wide case. Michigan's Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) is leading those efforts. EPA officials told Wood TV that residents could expect preliminary results soon, but full results would be mailed to them in about a month. 
• The agency has been involved in conference calls concerning the issue as some are asking Michigan to provide more resources and request more federal assistance, according to MLive. 

Dive Insight:

Though the EPA's involvement at this stage is small, it is significant — it's the first time federal officials have become involved in what's quickly becoming a complicated situation where lawsuits have already begun. Attorneys representing homeowners with contaminated drinking water have said previously that more cases are likely.

Environmental activist Erin Brockovich has also visited Kent County to draw attention to the ongoing issue. She brought attention to what she called a "haphazard" way that waste is disposed in the United States that she said has to stop. Litigants in the already-existing lawsuits are seeking yet-unspecified monetary damages and cleanup of the tannery-sludge dumpsite. Waste Management, 3M and Wolverine World Wide are all named in a federal class action lawsuit, alleging the companies dumped toxic waste in the county.

So far, Wolverine has provided funding for bottled water and whole-house water filters in the affected areas. Some water has tested for levels of per-and polyfluoroalkyl substances above EPA-regulated levels. It is yet unclear if the agency will become more involved in the cleanup. Although the EPA has said its role is to support Michigan's DEQ, some Michigan lawmakers and the Kent County Health Department have asked for more assistance from the federal agency.

The contamination is believed to have come from Wolverine World Wide dumping tannery sludge in unlined pits in the 1960s. Thus far, at least two dump sites have been discovered, along with old metal drums and other debris that could be an indication the dumping activity was more widespread.