The Marshall CATL-Ford Blue Oval Megasite
Residents of the beautiful, historic Marshall farming community fight for their neighborhoods, their land and water, and for the peace and security of their community.
Why are Marshall residents so concerned about the Megasite
An historic, riverside agricultural community destroyed to build a "battery park"
Geological experts have confirmed that Marshall, Michigan enjoys some of the most fertile farmland in the nation–with extremely high permeability. Yet the corrupt officials from Marshall Area Economic Development Alliance (MAEDA) and the City of Marshall have decided that the three miles north of the Kalamazoo River, just west of the quaint historic village of Marshall, is an ideal location for an EV battery manufacturing megasite.
The site has already destroyed historic farmsteads, 100+ year old trees, and habitat for federally protected species–and more destruction is rapidly underway.
While the Marshall Megasite has been sold to the public as a Ford plant, "Ford Blue Oval" is in fact a subsidiary of the Chinese-owned company Contemporary Amperex Technology Co. LTD (CATL). The company's ties to the Chinese Communist Party, and the tax loopholes demonstrated by the company's contract have drawn deep concern from residents and legislators alike.
Project snapshot
- Up to 3,000 acres of prime, in-use farmland, wetlands, and forest
- along 3 miles of the Kalamazoo River
- 23 homes demolished, including several built early 1800s
- 5 historic barns, 6 businesses & a fire department demolished
- zero public meetings about the megasite
- CATL's Chinese ownership has alarmed legislators
aka Ford's "Blue Oval" CATL venture
Environmental Impact of Marshall Megasite
100+ year old farmhouses and barns bulldozed; ancient trees hewn down; federally protected bat habitats destroyed; the best agricultural land in the state pushed around by heavy equipment to demoralize local residents.
Federally & State Protected Species Habitats Destroyed
Federally Protected
- Indiana bat (Myotis sodalis)
- Northern long-eared bat (Myotis septentrionalis)
- Eastern massasauga (rattlesnake) (Sistrurus catenatus)
- Monarch butterfly (Danaus plexippus)
State Protected
- Bald eagle (Haliaeetus leucocephalus)
- Bobolink (Dolichonyx oryzivorus)
- Lesser yellowlegs (Tringa flavipes)
- Red-headed woodpecker (Melanerpes erythrocephalus)
- Rusty blackbird (Euphagus carolinus)
- Wood thrush (Hylocichla mustelina)
What happened to the habitats?
Despite the fact that Michigan Department of Agricultural and Rural Development (MDARD) had placed several nesting boxes for endangered bats within the CATL megasite, and despite the fact that MAEDA's retained environmental consultant Burns and McDonnell found several federally and state protected species within 1.5 miles of the site, in winter of 2022 MAEDA cut down the 100+ year old trees and habitats where bats had been nesting. EGLE had not yet performed their site inspection for bats.
EV Battery Manufacturing Materials & Impacts
Known Materials in EV Battery Manufacturing
- Lithium carbonate, “may be a teratogen,” and is on the Right to Know Hazardous Substance List and Special Hazardous Health Substance List
- Primary synthetic graphite, which “is considered hazardous according to OSHA”
- Iron phosphate - “a strong oxidizing agent” which “should not be released into the environment”
- N-methylpyrrolidone (NMP), “May cause damage to organs through prolonged or repeated exposure”, “reproductive harm” Gotion says they will make LFP batteries, although materials used in more dangerous NMC batteries have been cited by Gotion rep as being needed–such as cobalt, manganese, and nickel
- Lithium fields and rare earth leeching are devastating to the environment, putting large amounts of chemicals into the earth; it's also tied to slave labor. Some critical EV mineral supply chains have been linked with terrorist organizations.
Known environmental impacts
- intake of 715,000+ gallons of water per day
- output of 65,000+ gallons of wastewater per day
- no environmental impact study (EIS) has been provided
- light pollution will disrupt migratory patterns of birds
- light pollution will block aurora borealis and night sky visibility
- some amount of lithium carbonate will enter the local ecosystem
- air quality will be polluted from the local highways and roads will experience a constant stream of freight trucks
