Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy confirmed Thursday that state environmental regulators are reopening the public comment period for a license renewal application from the Industrial and Energy Service’s hazardous waste facility in Romulus.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, announced the public comment period in a release Thursday. Dingell and Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and Sri Thanedar, D-Detroit, wrote a letter to EGLE on March 17 urging the State Department to expand opportunities for people to learn about the facility’s operations.
“It’s the right thing to do to be transparent, to listen to community concerns and to ensure that the voices of residents who are directly affected by the storage of hazardous waste in their neighborhoods are heard,” Dingell said in a statement. “Transporting and storing toxic materials requires constant vigilance, and communities deserve full notice and an opportunity to voice their concerns before a final decision is made.”
EGLE spokesman Hugh McDiarmid said guidelines for participating in the extensive public comment period will be published next week.
The Republican facility on Citrin Drive in Romulus came under scrutiny after local politicians learned it was one of two facilities in Michigan to receive hazardous waste from the Norfolk Southern train tracks in East Palestine, Ohio.
This facility is licensed to store and process hazardous waste above ground. Waste water is brought in by wagons, tankers and containers; EGLE documents show that it contains toxic and toxic pollutants, including heavy metals.
After processing the waste above ground, it is injected into a pair of deep wells on the site. These wells are licensed by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The facility applied to renew its 10-year upstream operating license on April 28, 2021. EGLE will review this application. The department’s original public comment period ended on February 16.
The facility is listed as being in “substantial compliance” with federal hazardous waste law in the EPA’s online database. EGLE, which conducts the inspections, said the Republic of Tajikistan has resolved the issue and is being reviewed accordingly. The parties work under an administrative consent order.
Dingell said the congressional panel will also hold a public forum on April 13 with EGLE, the EPA and others to discuss “the urgent need for further public discussion about how and where to dispose of toxic and hazardous waste.”
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Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy confirmed Thursday that state environmental regulators are reopening the public comment period for a license renewal application from the Industrial and Energy Service’s hazardous waste facility in Romulus.
U.S. Rep. Debbie Dingell, D-Ann Arbor, announced the public comment period in a release Thursday. Dingell and Reps. Rashida Tlaib, D-Detroit, and Sri Thanedar, D-Detroit, wrote a letter to EGLE on March 17 urging the State Department to expand opportunities for people to learn about the facility’s operations.
“It’s the right thing to do to be transparent, to listen to community concerns and to ensure that the voices of residents who are directly affected by the storage of hazardous waste in their neighborhoods are heard,” Dingell said in a statement. “Transporting and storing toxic materials requires constant vigilance, and communities deserve full notice and an opportunity to voice their concerns before a final decision is made.”
EGLE spokesman Hugh McDiarmid said guidelines for participating in the extensive public comment period will be published next week.
The Republican facility on Citrin Drive in Romulus came under scrutiny after local politicians learned it was one of two facilities in Michigan to receive hazardous waste from the Norfolk Southern train tracks in East Palestine, Ohio.
This facility is licensed to store and process hazardous waste above ground. Waste water is brought in by wagons, tankers and containers; EGLE documents show that it contains toxic and toxic pollutants, including heavy metals.
After processing the waste above ground, it is injected into a pair of deep wells on the site. These wells are licensed by the US Environmental Protection Agency.
The facility applied to renew its 10-year upstream operating license on April 28, 2021. EGLE will review this application. The department’s original public comment period ended on February 16.
The facility is listed as being in “substantial compliance” with federal hazardous waste law in the EPA’s online database. EGLE, which conducts the inspections, said the Republic of Tajikistan has resolved the issue and is being reviewed accordingly. The parties work under an administrative consent order.
Dingell said the congressional panel will also hold a public forum on April 13 with EGLE, the EPA and others to discuss “the urgent need for further public discussion about how and where to dispose of toxic and hazardous waste.”
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