(WXYZ) — The state will listen to neighbors’ concerns about a proposed concrete crushing facility in Wayne during a public hearing this week. The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) will hold the online hearing on Thursday, August 7, 2025, at 6:00 p.m. to determine whether the owner of the site can destroy wetlands on his property.
In May, many neighbors in Wayne told the 7 Investigators they were upset about the proposed concrete crushing facility.
“It’s nature. I bought my house based on where my kitchen window was located. I can look out my kitchen window, out into the forest and out into nature. And that was a huge selling point for me,” Cheryl Bauman told 7 Investigator Heather Catallo.
Related Video: Wayne County neighbors trying to stop concrete crushing facility from destroying wetlands
Bauman said she was devastated when she learned the forested wetland behind her home was going to be rezoned to accommodate the concrete crushing facility.
“My first thought was my nature is going to be disrupted and destroyed,” said Bauman. In April, the owners of the property started tearing down trees across the site.
In addition to their concerns about wildlife, neighbors told us they are also worried about the potentially toxic dust that the concrete crushing operation is expected to create.
“I'm concerned about everything,” said Teresa Parks, who lives nearby.
“It's going to destroy my property and it's going to really put a burden on me and my family's health,” said neighbor Vincent Harder. “My biggest health concern is the asthma and just the dust that we're all going to be breathing in.”
Extended interview: 'There's gotta be a better place.' Vincent Harder shares more about concerns over wetland development
Bauman says she and her neighbors went to several city zoning, planning and council meetings, but the Wayne City Council approved the plan with a 6-1 vote in 2022. The only council member to vote ‘no’ was Alfred Brock.
The site is owned by Anthony Calo’s Van Born Investment LLC. Calo owns two other local concrete crushing facilities, including Dino-Mite Crushing and Recycling in Detroit. Since 2021, the city has issued about 130 tickets for things like dust control and unsafe building conditions. Last fall, the company and Detroit reached a consent agreement which dismissed the tickets and created ways to get the facility into compliance.
Calo’s attorney told the 7 Investigators that their consultants found that the dust emissions on the Detroit site were “consistently within the acceptable ranges.”
For the Wayne site, Calo’s lawyer said the facility will provide 36 new jobs and said the state air permit has already been approved.
“Any wetland that’s left in Wayne County is important. This is their 3rd permit application through EGLE, so they’ve sharpened their pencil twice and come back to us with a new plan. The original plan was to destroy more than an acre of wetland, and that plan now is down to about a third of an acre of wetland,” said EGLE Wetland District Supervisor Andrew Hartz in April.
During Thursday’s public hearing, EGLE will listen to the views of “interested persons” about the approval of Calo’s most recent wetlands permit.
If you would like to register for the public hearing, click here.
