The Eagle

Residents protest toxic waste expansion permit

Despite overwhelming local criticism and opposition from elected leaders and Wayne County officials, a permit application to increase the amount of toxic waste from the World War II Manhattan Project is expected to gain approval from state regulators.

Republic Services, which owns the Wayne Disposal Landfill in Van Buren Township, has submitted an application to increase disposal capacity from about 23 percent, from 22.5 million cubic yards to 27.6 million cubic yards to accept elevated radioactive waste from the manufacture of the atomic bomb and hundreds of other toxic chemicals, some considered lethal. The facility is currently permitted to accept 722 types of hazardous compounds considered too harmful to the public or the environment for disposal in a conventional landfill.

During a meeting last week, representatives from the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) told area residents and environmental activists that the permit application meets all applicable standards are requirements and will be approved on that basis.

The expansion is vertical, according to company representatives, and is now allowable following the closure of a runway at Willow Run Airport, near the waste facility. The closure of the runway removes the proposed expansion area from an airport flight path. A Republic Services representative said the new expansion was not previously permitted due to flight path regulations. With the closure of the runway, the restrictions on “vertical expansion” are no longer applicable, she said.

During the informational meeting, Christine Matlock, EGLE permit engineer for the proposed expansion at Wayne Disposal, told the audience that federal and state laws do not allow EGLE to deny an operating license if the facility can technically meet the requirements set forth by state and federal laws.

Members of the audience were critical of the proposal, and several local residents responded negatively to the plan to increase the amount of radioactive and toxic waste to be disposed of near a residential neighborhood and in proximity to Belleville Lake. One resident questioned the monitoring or contamination of water from Wayne Disposal into Cork Drain, which drains into Belleville Lake. She asked if that water is tested or treated for radionuclides, elevated radioactivity isotopes.

"The NPDES (National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System) permit, to my knowledge, does not have any radiological testing," said Jay Paquette, EGLE Radioactive Materials Unit supervisor.

"If we have to live next to this dirty, top-five most dangerous landfill, we deserve to have that level of data," the 20-year area resident said. She noted that her daughter and other children swim in the lake, and nearby contamination is a serious concern.

Public criticism of Wayne Disposal's capacity was rampant in 2023 when a plan to truck hazardous vinyl chloride waste spilled during a train derailment in Ohio to the Van Buren facility was revealed. Protests from local, state, and federal officials prompted the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency to stop those waste shipments into Michigan and subsequently dispose of that waste in out-of-state facilities. Public outcry did not halt the acceptance of 6,000 tons of soil and concrete with elevated levels of radiation from the development site of the Manhattan nuclear project last August, however.

Officials from EGLE detailed safety measures at the landfill, including the installation of synthetic liners, compacted clay layers, a leachate control system, which also controls stormwater that may drain through the landfill, along with air and water monitoring at the site.

Another audience member claimed that the EGLE environmental justice screening tool ranks Wayne Disposal in the 98th percentile for cumulative environmental impacts for burden of pollution and environmental stressors, including air quality, proximity to hazardous waste, traffic density, and socioeconomic vulnerability, including income and race-based disparities.

EGLE staff will evaluate the application and issue a public notice regarding the findings and then schedule a public hearing to receive public comments. EGLE acting Materials Management Division Director Tracy Kecskemeti said that it will happen "this calendar year, probably later this summer. Before that decision is made, we will come back here," she said.

"How do you bring the most harmful, the most destructive chemicals known to mankind, and put it outside of Belleville Lake?" asked one audience member. "You're going to put a toxic waste dump and expand it with more toxic waste to endanger our community? Shame on you."