Overview:

-Residents of Van Buren Township protested against radioactive waste shipments to Wayne Disposal Inc. landfill.
- Incumbent Reggie Miller opposes radioactive waste and supports renewable energy, while opponent Dale Biniecki criticizes it.
- The Michigan House race in the 31st District could determine party control.

Just two months before a highly competitive Michigan House Race in southeast Michigan, residents found out radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project was being sent to their district.

People living near the Wayne Disposal Inc. landfill in Van Buren Township flooded public meetings, demanding that waste shipments stop. Several communities around Wayne Disposal filed a lawsuit, which led to an injunction temporarily blocking waste from coming in from the Niagara Falls Storage Site near Lewiston, New York, but not other sites.

Incumbent Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Township), who has represented the 31st District since 2022, positions herself as a champion in efforts to block radioactive waste, hazardous waste and landfill garbage from being sent to Michigan.

Meanwhile, her opponent Dale Biniecki, a Republican from Rainsville Township, has focused on another hot-button environmental issue. He’s criticizing Democrats for passing Michigan’s 2023 renewable energy package, which gave the state the final say on permitting large renewable energy developments.        

At the Harvest Fest in Downtown Belleville on Saturday, Alec Temple, an arborist and Belleville resident, said he hadn’t given much thought to the race. But he said he didn’t want radioactive waste coming to the landfill, adding that the facility was already causing problems.  

“You can actually smell it on certain days going down the service drive or the freeway,” he said.

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Temple has voted for Republicans in the past but said he could be persuaded to vote for a Democrat. He said he is looking for a candidate who’s “made an impact in the community.”

People like Temple could play an outsized role in this year’s elections, with a handful of races like the one in the 31st District likely to determine which party controls the Michigan House.

Miller beat Biniecki by less than five points in 2024. The race could be close again in a district that includes towns like Belleville and Van Buren Charter Township, as well as smaller towns and rural areas.

Bernie Porn, a Michigan Epic-MRA pollster, said Miller’s 5% victory in such a closely divided district was a “fairly healthy win” but that the highly competitive U.S. Presidential contest will weigh on down-ballot races and could lead to a closer election in the district.

Issues like abortion and inflation are likely to be top concerns, Porn said, noting that Michigan often reflected general national trends for voter concerns. An October poll from NBC News found abortion was the top motivating issue for U.S. voters, followed by issues like immigration and protecting democracy.

Miller says she is committed to protecting abortion in Michigan, while Biniecki has been endorsed by the anti-abortion group Right to Life Michigan.

Yet, Porn said EPIC-MRA’s survey research found there was strong support for increasing tipping fees for landfill waste and that people were generally “turned off by the idea of having radioactive waste located near them.”

But whether Miller or Biniecki could make curtailing waste a winning issue would depend on their plans and how well they can pitch them to voters, he said.

Miller touts track record on waste

Miller has been vocal in her opposition to radioactive waste and has introduced measures to rein in out-of-state hazardous waste and landfill waste.

In September, she introduced HB 5923, which would ban the dumping of technologically enhanced naturally occurring radioactive material, or TENORM, from in-state and out-of-state sources in Michigan.

Josef Greenberg, spokesperson for Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy, said TENORM is generally the only type of radioactive waste Michigan receives. However, some materials, like residential smoke detectors that aren’t defined as TENORM, can still be disposed of in the state.

In 2023, Miller introduced legislation to raise hazardous waste disposal fees, requiring a percentage of the money generated to be distributed to the host community. This bill has not advanced.

Miller told Planet Detroit that she was also working on legislation to raise tipping fees for landfill garbage.

“The governor tried to raise it to $5 (per ton) from 36 cents, and that wasn’t gonna fly. People said, ‘No, that’s too drastic.’ So we’re looking at a sliding scale,” she said.  

In August, Biniecki criticized Miller on Facebook for saying she wasn’t aware that radioactive waste was being sent to Wayne Disposal from the Niagara Falls Storage Site. The issue was first reported by the Detroit Free Press in August and  took many elected officials by surprise.

Biniecki didn’t respond to multiple requests for comment from Planet Detroit, which included questions about radioactive waste and tipping fees for landfill waste.

However, he told the Detroit News that he would try to ban out-of-state radioactive waste but not waste produced in Michigan.

Race highlights battle over renewable energy on farmland

Biniecki has made opposition to Michigan’s 2023 renewable energy legislation a centerpiece of his campaign, saying he wants to give local leaders the final say over renewable energy developments.

“I want to modernize our power generation with natural gas and nuclear, so our precious farmland isn’t used to power up urbanites’ electric vehicles,” Biniecki told Michigan Farm News, a publication of the Michigan Farm Bureau.

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The Farm Bureau endorsed Biniecki, and its political action committee has given him at least $5,000, reflecting its opposition to the renewable energy siting law.

Yet, the group’s position on the siting law has alienated some members, who say it betrays farmers who could secure needed income from wind and solar leases.

Miller said she fought to amend the renewable energy package to ensure developers first sought approval for renewable energy projects from local governments and to provide municipalities with money for representation if they took the issue to the state. She said the legislation was about more than just wind and solar.

“This was about protecting farmers’ rights to be able to use their property for these solar projects,” she said. “This allows them to retire, be able to make an income and keep the farm.”

Biniecki’s opposition to large-scale renewables on farmland and support for natural gas generation may reflect his position on climate change, which is caused primarily by the burning of fossil fuels.

At a 2022 candidate forum in Monroe, Biniecki said he was “not entirely convinced” about climate change.

“We need better studies because all of the studies I’ve seen kind of got problems one way or another,” he said.

There is near-universal consensus that climate change is occurring and that it’s caused by humans, according to a review of scientific literature in the journal Nature.

In comments to the League of Women Voters, Miller touted her support for Michigan’s renewable energy legislation.

“With an abundance of natural resources, a strong agriculture sector, and a large percentage of the world’s freshwater, Michigan should be a leader in protecting and preserving our environment for future generations,” she said.

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Brian Allnutt is a senior reporter and contributing editor at Planet Detroit. He covers the climate crisis, environmental justice, politics and open space.