A hearing today for a man suspected of burying a contaminated junkyard near Ford Lake was adjourned until June 23, Ypsilanti Township officials said.

Officials discovered the buried junkyard on Monday while inspecting his lot.

Township Attorney Dennis McLain said today that the Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality are managing the cleanup and will investigate the site.

The lot is owned by Ypsilanti Township resident George Madison and located on Daytona Avenue, just 1,685 feet from Ford Lake and above aquifers that possibly feed into the lake.

The EPA likely will begin its investigation in the first or second of week of June, and McLain said he advised Washtenaw Circuit Court Judge Timothy Connors that it would prudent to know the extent of the damage before having a hearing.

Connors agreed.

“We simply don’t have the entire picture at the moment,” McLain said. ”We hope by that time we’ll have further definitive information on what this case involves, what is there, what is buried that was not yet discovered.

“We are at the early stages of what was going on, but there’s no question improper items were definitely concealed by someone.”

McLain said Madison denied any wrongdoing at the hearing this morning and was advised by Connors to hire an attorney. Connors also cautioned him that any statements he made would be public record.

McLain said there could potentially be a criminal case brought against whoever buried the junk, though it was still too early to make that determination.