Judge grants injunction on NY radioactive waste at Michigan landfill

DETROIT — A Wayne County judge has granted four communities a preliminary injunction to keep hazardous waste from New York out of a Van Buren Township landfill.

County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox granted the injunction on Wednesday to the cities of Belleville and Romulus and townships of Canton and Van Buren, and Wayne County, according to officials and court records.

"The court finds (the plaintiffs) have sufficiently demonstrated the necessity and propriety of preliminary injunctive relief enjoining Wayne Disposal Inc. from accepting radioactive waste from the Niagara Falls Storage Site in Lewiston, N.Y., and Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program material from other sites," Cox wrote in his decision. "The public interest would be harmed if this injunctive relief is not granted."

Officials with the municipalities that sought the injunction praised the judge's decision.

"I am pleased with today's ruling from Judge Cox, stopping radioactive waste from coming to Michigan," Canton Township Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak said in a statement. "Importantly, Judge Cox's Opinion recognized the significant health risks to people exposed to radioactive material, even in small amounts, over long periods of time. His ruling also weighed risks to Michigan's groundwater, waterways, green spaces, and environment. It is a well-reasoned decision."

Romulus Mayor Robert McCraight added: "Where I am pleased to see a favorable decision in this specific instance, we must continue to work diligently to stop Michigan from being the nation's dumping ground for hazardous materials."

But Wayne Disposal Inc. on Thursday criticized the ruling.

"The Circuit Court’s ruling is overly broad and will have detrimental impacts on the remediation of sites within the (Formerly Utilized Sites Remedial Action Program, or FUSRAP,) and both the federal and state regulatory programs designed to safely and effectively manage the disposal of wastes throughout the country," the firm said in a statement. "Responsible management and disposal of these waste streams is an essential need, and Wayne Disposal, Inc. is designed and permitted to safely manage this material. Wayne Disposal will continue to pursue a just and proper resolution of the matter."

City officials said the next hearing on the issue is scheduled for Aug. 18.

State Rep. Reggie Miller, D-Van Buren Township, also hailed Cox's ruling.

“This ruling is a major victory for our community," she said in a statement. "People are concerned about their health, environmental safety, and the future implications of storing this waste here. Michigan should not be a bargain bin dumping ground for radioactive waste from out of state, particularly when there are still so many questions that remain about long-term risks, groundwater impacts, and a lack of transparency.

"I’m grateful to the judge for recognizing the serious concerns raised by residents, environmental experts, and local leaders," Miller said. "This ruling is evidence that when Michiganders unite to organize and speak with one voice that they will not allow their community’s health to be endangered; they can move mountains. This ruling sends a clear message: Michigan’s environment is not for sale. I will continue fighting alongside the people against any potential appeals, future expansions, or potentially harmful shipments."

Cox's ruling is the latest development in the skirmish over hazardous waste between the western Wayne County communities and Wayne Disposal Inc., which owns and operates the landfill. It is one of the few in the U.S. that can handle certain hazardous waste.

Last month, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans said the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers would not send waste containing residual radioactivity from the Niagara Falls Storage Site to the Van Buren Township landfill because of "strenuous community pushback."

"On the heels of the ... decision to scrap plans to ship radioactive waste from Lewiston, New York to Michigan, and instead ship it to Texas, this new court decision shows that the communities fighting radioactive waste from entering Michigan are on the right side of history," Graham-Hudak said. "Together we fight, and together we are winning."

The Army Corps is cleaning up the New York site and others that were contaminated by early atomic energy and atomic weaponry development, including the Manhattan Project, which built the atomic bomb during World War II.

Officials had planned to send about 6,000 cubic yards of soil and concrete contaminated with low levels of radioactivity from New York to Wayne Disposal.

But last September, Canton, Romulus, Belleville, Van Buren Township, and the Van Buren Township Fire Chief sued Wayne Disposal Inc. in Wayne County Circuit Court, arguing the Manhattan Project waste was not a safe material to store at the facility and local officials were not adequately informed of the landfill's plans. Wayne County later signed on to the lawsuit.

"I've said it repeatedly and I'll continue to say it," Belleville Mayor Ken Voigt said Wednesday. "The location of the Wayne Disposal facility in Van Buren Township is one of the worst you could pick for a toxic waste dump of any kind. We must protect our citizens and assure the safety of 21% of the world's water supply."

U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, Wayne County Executive Warren Evans and other local officials hosted a town hall in September about the waste meant to be sent to Wayne Disposal. Residents at the meeting blasted the plans.

The next month, Wayne Disposal moved the case to federal court, arguing the U.S. Constitution's Commerce Clause blocks state and local governments from unilaterally stopping shipments of out-of-state waste and had "long provided that 'the problems of waste disposal' represent 'a matter national in scope and in concern.'"

Also in October, a Wayne County Circuit Court judge ordered that Wayne Disposal could resume importing some radioactive waste from cleanup sites around the country, but not waste from the Niagara Falls Storage Site.

In November, a U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan judge ruled the company's arguments that its waste imports were protected by the U.S. Commerce Clause were not enough to keep the dispute in federal court, and the matter was sent back to the county's circuit court.

Van Buren Township Supervisor Kevin McNamara said that Wednesday's ruling is a victory for the communities near the landfill, but the fight over the issue isn't over.

"While I am happy that this waste stream is not coming to Michigan, the only true fix to stop future waste streams is legislation to outlaw radioactive waste from coming to Michigan," he said. "Our jobs are not done."