Brose New Boston (New Boston, Wayne County)

Brose New Boston is an auto parts manufacturer located at 23400 Bell Road. Routine surface water monitoring was conducted downstream of Brose and identified elevated concentrations of PFAS in surface water. Source tracking was conducted and identified Brose New Boston as a likely contributor of PFAS to Raegan Drain. Stormwater discharge samples were collected from the site, and results were as high as 170 ppt for PFOS (compared to the applicable criteria of 12 ppt). Brose New Boston voluntarily entered into a General Administrative Consent Order (GACO) with EGLE on November 13, 2025, which requires them to conduct ongoing monitoring and implement corrective actions to achieve compliance with the effluent goals by November 13, 2030. As a requirement of the GACO, Brose New Boston began investigating potential onsite PFAS sources. The investigation discovered that during construction of the building in 1998, it is suspected that fill soil brought onsite during construction may have been contaminated with PFAS from a separate location historically known to have used firefighting foam (AFFF). It was also discovered that an AFFF tank and associated piping was removed from the property in 2012. There is no record of an AFFF release during the removal. After potential sources of PFAS were identified, onsite groundwater samples were collected. One groundwater sample had PFOS detected at 75 ppt (compared to 16 ppt) and PFHxS at 99 ppt (compared to 51 ppt). Groundwater flow is likely east toward the Reagan Drain. The Reagan Drain, which drains to the Huron River ~0.5 miles northeast of the site.