The City of Manitowoc has filed a lawsuit against Newell Brands, the former owner of the former Mirro property, seeking nearly $6 million to cover cleanup costs for contamination.Watch the full broadcast here: Manitowoc sues New ell Brands for $6 million in Mirro site cleanupOfficials say the downtown property, once a major industrial hub producing cookware and metal goods, was left with contamination such as PCBs, solvents, petroleum compounds, and PFAS. Millions have already been spent cleaning up the site."I've always felt the taxpayers shouldn't be on the hook 100% for this because it wasn't the taxpayers causing some of the issues on the site," Manitowoc Mayor Justin Nickels said.The property along Washington Street will be redeveloped into a 59-unit affordable housing complex. When asked about the transition to a residential property, Manitowoc Community Development Director Adam Tegen explained the financial challenges involved."That is ultimately why we approached the EPA because it is not a cheap prospect to get rid of these contaminations," Tegen said.The plan is to cap the site and install systems to protect residents on and off the property."A lot of investigation to figure out the extent of the contamination and that includes off-site, so we aren't just looking at the former Mirro site, we are looking at adjoining properties to make sure that's all mitigated," Tegen said.Newell Brands provided a statement saying they are working with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and will address the city's allegations through the legal process."Newell Operating Company has been cooperating with the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources and conducting extensive environmental investigation work under the Department's oversight. We will address the City's allegations through the legal process," Newell Brands said.Business owner Jacob Jeske is excited to see progress at the site."Absolutely excited about it, I think it's going to be great to have something better to look at," Jeske said.Nickels said the lawsuit will not affect the project timeline, with groundbreaking expected later this year.This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy. ...read more read less