MESA Launches Legal Action Against Gotion

Green Charter Township, MI – The Mecosta Environmental and Security Alliance (MESA) has served the Chinese Communist Party linked Gotion, Inc. with notice of intent to sue. MESA’s legal counsel, Robby Dube of the Eckland and Blando law firm, notified Gotion’s Vice President Chuck Thelen, along with Michigan Attorney General Dana Nessel, US Secretary of the Interior Deb Haaland, US Fish and Wildlife Service Director Martha Williams, and Michigan EGLE Director Phillip Roos in a letter dated September 25, 2023, of its intent to move forward with litigation. The suit is in accordance with Section 9 of the Endangered Species Act, which allows private citizens to sue anyone that harms, kills, maims, or damages the habitat of an endangered species.

The proposed Gotion gigafactory sits on property containing several endangered species such as: Bald Eagle, Karner Blue Butterfly, Rusty Patched Bumblebee. Dalziel Creek, which runs through the property, and the nearby Muskegon River have threatened or endangered mussels and snapping turtles. The notice also introduces Michigan Environmental Protection Act claims due to the dangerous chemicals that Gotion will be utilizing such as lithium and synthetic graphite, which is a significant risk to the unconfined aquifer that runs under the property, and therefore would cause contamination to local residents’ wells, the wells used by Ice Mountain’s bottled water operation, the Muskegon River, andultimately the Great Lakes. As required by law, Gotion now has 60 days to respond before MESA moves forward with the next steps in the legal process.

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