Company responsible for Flint River chemical spill files for bankruptcy

Flint, MI—Lockhart Chemical Company, an additive manufacturer whose Flint location was determined to be the origin of a chemical spill in the Flint River this summer, has filed for bankruptcy.

According to court records, the company filed for Chapter 7 bankruptcy in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, where it is headquartered, on Oct. 10, 2022. Chapter 7 bankruptcy provides for liquidation, or sale, of the company’s non-exempt properties and distribution of those proceeds to its creditors.

The filing comes after Michigan officials escalated their actions against Lockhart in September, adding to a June requirement that the company “undertake and fund cleanup and remedial actions” surrounding the spill.

Court documents show a list of over 60 creditors located in multiple midwestern states, California, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Washington, D.C., Connecticut, China, Spain and South Korea. Included in that list is the city of Flint’s Department of Public Safety and its Water Pollution Control Division, a Flint-based environmental cleanup company, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) and the state’s attorney general’s office.

The Lockhart chemical spill was first reported by a fisherman on June 15, 2022.

From there, officials began work to find the source of, contain, and clean-up the spill, which was only identified as an “oil-like” substance at the time. Genesee County’s Medical Health Officer issued multiple health orders in the wake of the discovery, asking that visitors to the Flint River “not have direct contact or participate in any sports or fishing” until more information was known. This upset operations for Flint River-based businesses for the remainder of the summer and effectively caused Flint’s Flotilla organizers to move their annual event to land this year.

Lockhart’s listed attorney did not respond to Flint Beat’s request for comment on the filing by press time.

This is a developing story.