MARSHALL, Mich. (Michigan News Source) – On Tuesday, residents of the City of Marshall opposing the Ford Blue Oval Battery plant filed a lawsuit in response to a recent rejection of a petition filed also opposing the project. 

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The lawsuit was filed in the Calhoun County Circuit Court by the Committee for Marshall – Not the Megasite, after several other attempts to thwart the Blue Oval projects continuation including a Joint Planning Commission vote which counseled against granting the company more land for the project, and a petition headed by the group attempting to overturn the Marshall City Council decision to grant more land to the company. 

A week ago, the Marshall City Clerk delivered the news to the public that despite the group, the Committee for Marshall – Not the Megasite’s collection efforts to obtain several hundred signatures, less than 150 signatures were deemed valid. 

Members of the group driving the petition effort have stated that they collected more than 800 signatures, while they only needed to obtain a minimum of nearly 600 signatures. 

Members of the City, including Marshall City Manager Derek Perry have acknowledged that the city intends to hold its position in court. 

“We know there is broad community support for this project, and we remain excited about the potential of the BlueOval Battery Park to create thousands of local jobs including jobs for young people, so they aren’t forced to leave our area to find opportunities,” Perry said in an emailed statement according to the Detroit Free Press. 

At a Marshall City Council meeting in early May that lasted until after 3 am, featuring dozens of public comments, a majority of them against the proposed project, the City Council voted unanimously to rezone township land for industrial use. 

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Many of the speakers were opposed to the project, including Glenn Kowalske, an advocate for the committee opposing the Megasite, who expressed his opposition to potential environmental damages to the land and water resources that are near the project. 

“The soil is good farmland, it’s very permeable so anything that flows into the ground will go directly into the river,” Kowalske said, “The groundwater there is only about 30 feet below the surface, so there is also a big concern about aquifer damage with an industrial site.”

Supporters like Choose Marshall CEO, Jim Durian, have shared their support for the City’s actions that are attempting to move the project forward. 

“With this petition drive now rejected, we can focus on the exciting work ahead of creating local jobs for people today and long into the future so young people in our community won’t have to move away from the Marshall area to find a career,” he said.