WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – Wayne County leaders held a special hearing to learn more about the hazardous waste brought to Michigan after an Ohio train derailment.
That waste from the Palestine, Ohio, derailment was brought to two different sites, one in Van Buren Township and the other in Romulus.
County commissioners and other elected officials said they felt blindsided by the delivery.
Elizabeth Browne, the director of the materials management division for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE), presented via Zoom at the hearing.
“I know there’s been a lot of concern that no one was notified about the Ohio waste shipments, but there are no requirements at the state or federal level for advance notification of wastes shipments,” said Browne.
She explained how both hazardous waste sites are adequately licensed to accept the type and amount of material sent from Ohio. She said those sites undergo regular testing in compliance with the license.
Browne did acknowledge the open violations against the facility in Romulus. She said the company took quick action to rectify the situation.
“There was no release of any material through the violations,” Browne said. “They were more administrative violations.”
Other experts that spoke at the hearing highlighted the inequities involved.
Nick Schroeck, an environmental law professor, said low-income populations and people of color are likelier to live next to a hazardous waste facility in Michigan.
“Sixty-five percent of the people living within three miles of these facilities are people of color,” Schroeck said.
Schroeck also said that it’s hard to walk it back once a facility is licensed.
“You really need a lot of voices raising up and saying, ‘We don’t want this type of facility here’ because once they’re permitted, it is very difficult to shut them down until they’ve reached their capacity or fill up with waste so that could be decades,” Schroeck said.
To have your voice heard, Schroeck recommends contacting your elected officials.
More: Michigan officials ‘blindsided’ by arrival of waste from Ohio train derailment
