Michigan judge grants permanent injunction preventing Wayne Disposal from accepting radioactive waste
A victory for thousands of community members and environmental activists in western Wayne County on Wednesday as Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox permanently banned a Van Buren Township landfill from accepting radioactive waste.
Community members have been pushing back for years against a potential shipment of radioactive waste that was scheduled to be transported to the area. A temporary injunction had been issued, and the waste was rerouted to Texas. That injunction is now permanent.
"There were a lot of virtual high fives, a lot of texts started going off. A lot of people saying I can't believe we did it," said Chris Donley, with Michigan Against Atomic Waste.
This new ruling says that Wayne Disposal, Inc. is permanently prohibited from accepting any additional TENORM, or technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material, at its landfill.
"So many people thought that it would just be absolutely impossible to battle a billion-dollar company," said Donley.
Donley says that all the evidence presented in court shows that storing this waste in close proximity to homes, schools, and waterways would be extremely harmful to the local population's health and the environment.
"I have never met a single human being other than someone that works at Republic or for Republic that thinks putting the largest nuclear waste east of the Mississippi in the middle of neighborhoods is a good idea," he said.
In reaction to Cox's ruling, Congresswoman Debbie Dingell released a statement saying in part, "Today's ruling is a victory for the people of Western Wayne County and the health of our communities. I could not be more proud of our efforts that made it possible from the beginning, we stood united in saying that our neighborhoods should not be treated as a dumping ground for radioactive waste."
Wayne Disposal, which is owned by Republic Services, sent a statement to CBS Detroit saying, "Wayne Disposal, Inc. is a safe, well-managed facility that is specifically engineered to handle FUSRAP TENORM and other complex waste streams. This ruling sets a troubling precedent that undermines protections afforded to interstate commerce and impedes site remediation, as well as the safe and effective long-term management of these materials for customers in Michigan and throughout the country."
While this ruling was a permanent one, residents like Donley say they will still fight the landfill's expansion and plan to oppose any appeal Wayne Disposal files regarding Wednesday's ruling.
