Toxic Gas, Toxic Lawsuit: Kalamazoo Resident Takes City to Court Over Air Pollution

A former Kalamazoo resident is suing the city over alleged failures to address hydrogen sulfide emissions from the wastewater treatment plant that have been reported in nearby neighborhoods.

Brandi Crawford-Johnson filed the lawsuit in late December 2026, naming the city of Kalamazoo as the defendant. Kalamazoo County Judge Curtis Bell did not issue a preliminary injunction during a hearing on Monday, January 26, denying Crawford-Johnson's request for immediate action.

Crawford-Johnson moved away from Kalamazoo years ago after discovering concerns about air pollution that affected her family's health. She has filed multiple legal actions attempting to force action and reduce pollution in the city.

"We feel helpless, we feel defeated sometimes, we feel ignored," Crawford-Johnson said. "It's scary. Every home and police station and business I went to said they get headaches and burning eyes from the gas."

City Says There Is No Public Health Risk

The city of Kalamazoo has its own monitoring system to detect hydrogen sulfide concentrations. City Spokesman Mike Smith said sworn testimony from Public Services Director James Baker was presented about the city's most recent hydrogen sulfide monitoring data.

"That data shows that there is no risk to public health from hydrogen sulfide emissions from the wastewater plant," Smith said.

The city has a plan in place to notify the public if hydrogen sulfide readings in any neighborhood suggest the threshold of 70 ppb over 14 days might be reached, based on a confirmed result. Smith said the warning system has never been needed.

Baker explained that when any public-area monitors produce a reading above 70 ppb, city staff are automatically alerted. Staff then respond to attempt to validate the result.

"In every single instance in which an EnviroSuite monitor reported a reading above 70 ppb, that reading was found to be anomalous, for example because the monitor had been vandalized or because someone was burning leaves in the immediate vicinity of the monitor," Baker said.

Crawford-Johnson Questions City's Assessment

Crawford-Johnson disagrees with the city's assessment. She referenced advice from state scientists for people to stay indoors when gas levels increase.

"Did the city forget that MDHHS said to stay inside 3 years ago?" Crawford-Johnson said, referencing advice from state scientists for people to go indoors when the gas levels increase.

She said exposure to hydrogen sulfide is not safe in concentrations below 70 ppb, especially for repeated or chronic exposure.

"My goal remains prevention, transparency and protecting public health in Kalamazoo," she said.

Monitoring Data Shows Variations

The city runs its own gas monitoring system to detect hydrogen sulfide concentrations. In January 2026, 15-minute average readings were mostly in the single digits, with many zero readings, along with some spikes up to 19 ppb.

One sensor in a residential area still regularly exceeds 1.4 ppb, based on January readings. The city's wastewater treatment plant is located in a neighborhood north of downtown.

Previous Lawsuit Settled

Crawford-Johnson previously filed a lawsuit against Graphic Packaging International, a nearby paper plant. That lawsuit was recently settled with undisclosed terms. Her latest lawsuit was filed under the Michigan Environmental Protection Act.

She is representing herself in the case and gave oral arguments, appearing by Zoom. The case raises questions about city infrastructure, she said.

The lawsuit alleges harm through the operation of the city wastewater plant. It asks for installation of independent, real-time hydrogen sulfide monitors in residential areas on the Northside and Eastside neighborhoods, with independent verification of monitoring methodology and real-time public notification when health-based exposure limits are exceeded.

Crawford-Johnson also asked for actions like air filtration assistance for vulnerable residents and schools.

Bell said he made the ruling based on what had been submitted to the court at this time.

"The plaintiff has articulated numerous alleged injuries that have been suffered over time due to the plaintiff's lack of regulation," Bell said. "But there's no scientific proof that has been presented, at least to this point, that supports that."

"There has to be an established connection between the alleged wrong and the injury suffered, and that simply has not been established at this time," Bell said.

Crawford-Johnson said she plans to bring in experts to court for the next stage of the legal battle, which will decide if any long-term actions are warranted.

She said she is hopeful the judge could make a ruling in favor of her arguments.

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