People in a southeast Michigan community have upped their fight against dumping radioactive waste at a local facility.
People in Belleville asked state lawmakers and the courts Monday to prevent a local waste facility from accepting low-level radioactive waste from the early days of the U.S. nuclear weapons program.
The waste would be moved from storage facilities in other states.
Officials with Wayne Disposal insisted their facility meets government regulations to store low-level radioactive waste.
But Jeneen Rippey, the president of Michigan Against Atomic Waste, said those regulations might not be good enough. “If we’re allowing a landfill to accept this dangerous waste, that is affecting our groundwater, that’s a very serious concern."
Residents are concerned waste may leech from the facility in Belleville, contaminating local lakes, streams, and eventually the Great Lakes.
Area residents gathered at Belleville’s public library to rally and hear from local elected officials.
Wayne County executive Warren Evans said the waste should go elsewhere. “There’s radioactive material already there. We’re already paying a price,” he said. “Do we want to step on the gas and up that ante? I know I don’t.”
Earlier this month, a judge issued an injunction temporarily blocking the waste shipments to the Wayne Disposal facility. A hearing on the case is scheduled for Tuesday morning.
Meanwhile, state regulators are considering an application to expand the facility.
Belleville residents are concerned regulators will ignore their concerns and approve the expansion.
A hearing on the application is scheduled for next month.
“The Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) is committed to a transparent permitting process,” said Josef Greenberg, a spokesperson for the department. “EGLE is legally obligated to issue a permit when an applicant meets all requirements set forth in Michigan law.”
Two state lawmakers are pressing bills they hope will raise the bar for landfills to discourage the bringing in of low-level radioactive waste from out of state.
They want Democratic Governor Gretchen Whitmer and Republican Speaker of the House Matt Hall to commit to supporting the legislation.
