Tempers flare as Ambassador Bridge Company officials ask for new bridge permit

DETROIT (WXYZ) - Tempers reached a boiling point on Tuesday night after what was supposed to be a routine permit hearing for Matty Moroun’s bridge company.

Dozens showed up for the meeting, but it’s who came that created some controversy.

A group of people who helped fill some of the seats at Western High School in southwest Detroit arrived via chartered bus. When we asked those people who paid for their ride and why they came to the hearing we were referred to a spokesman for the group.

The spokesman told Action News the group was not paid, and that they were only in attendance because they cared about the bridge issue. Everyone in the group who spoke during the hearing delivered pro-Moroun testimonials to the state officials holding the session.

State Representative Rashida Tlaib, who represents the area around the Ambassador Bridge, lashed out at Matty Moroun’s bridge company for bussing in the supporters.

The meeting, coordinated by the Department of Environmental Quality, was called after Moroun’s Ambassador Bridge company officials requested a renewal of an environmental permit they need – among many other permits – to go ahead with the construction of a new span.

Dan Stamper, President of Moroun’s bridge company, was in attendance at Tuesday’s meeting. Stamper told Action News Moroun has not given up on building a new bridge of his own, despite plans by the state and Canada to construct a new span.