Overview:
-Republic Services proposes expansion of a Belleville facility that accepts nuclear waste.
-A drain that flows into Belleville Lake and a wastewater system that flows into the Detroit River and Lake Erie are not tested for radiological material, officials say.
-Wayne County Commissioner Al Wilson voices flooding concerns: "Once the perfect storm hits, you have 350,000 residents within a 10-mile radius of Wayne Disposal Incorporated."
Chris Donley is among over a dozen people who gathered last week to protest the Republic Services proposal to expand its Belleville hazardous waste facility, which made headlines in recent years for accepting Manhattan Project-era nuclear waste from at least a dozen locations across the country.
Donley, a Van Buren Township resident and organizer with the grassroots group Michigan Against Atomic Waste, said he wasn’t surprised by the facility’s request to expand.
“They’re always looking to grow,” he told Planet Detroit Thursday. “That’s how they make their billions, right?”
Speaking ahead of an informational meeting for the project at the Wayne County Community College District’s Belleville campus, Donley said he’s very concerned about the addition of even more radioactive material in the highly populated area and the possibility hazardous waste could migrate offsite via two streams that flow into Belleville Lake, which is a few thousand feet from the facility.
“They don’t take into account the cumulative effect when you pile low concentrations of nuclear waste layer upon layer,” he said.
During the meeting, officials with Michigan’s Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy emphasized the extensive safeguards in place at Republic’s Wayne Disposal Inc. facility, including liners, leachate collection systems, and air and water testing.
“This is truly a really beautifully engineered structure,” said Christine Matlock, an environmental engineer with EGLE.
Many of the roughly 300 attendees were unconvinced by these assurances, expressing concern about a potential accident with trucks carrying material to the site or a leak from the landfill.
Questions were also raised about the lack of radiological testing of water coming off the site and the “down blending” occurring at a separate site within Wayne Disposal, where radioactive waste is mixed with other material to reduce the radioactivity level and allow for disposal.
Violations, expired license, lack of notification raise concerns
Several speakers noted Republic’s extensive history of violations at its other facilities and that Wayne Disposal has been operating without a hazardous waste license from the state since 2022.
Wayne Disposal provided an administratively complete application prior to its license expiration in May 2022, which allows it to continue operating under the expired license, said EGLE’s Matlock.
Republic seeks a 23% vertical expansion of Wayne Disposal’s capacity and to add a treatment process to immobilize debris from things like lead-contaminated pipes. In addition to radioactive waste, the site accepts some of the most harmful chemicals in existence, including PCBs, dioxins, and PFAS chemicals.
The planned expansion will increase the maximum allowed elevation for the landfill from 140 feet to 215 feet, Matlock said.
State Rep. Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren Township) told Planet Detroit that she and other lawmakers were not notified by EGLE of the proposed expansion. The agency posted a notice in the Belleville Area Independent, a small newspaper, the state lawmaker said.
Lawmakers previously expressed anger when news first broke in August 2024 that Manhattan Project-era radioactive waste was coming to the site. In February 2023, toxic waste from the East Palestine train disaster was sent to the site. This also took lawmakers by surprise.
As of Oct. 27, over 300,000 cubic yards of radioactive waste had been shipped to Wayne Disposal, which is the only site east of the Mississippi approved by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers to receive this type of material from the Manhattan Project-era sites it manages.
Miller said she had to convince EGLE to hold a public question and answer session, saying the agency had originally wanted only an open house-type meeting.
“They have been very difficult to work with,” she said of the agency.
EGLE spokesperson Josef Greenberg said the department worked in good faith to accommodate Miller’s requests.
“The department remains focused on creating inclusive, accessible public engagement opportunities and values constructive dialogue aimed at informing communities and building trust,” Greenberg said.
MORE REPORTING FROM PLANET DETROIT
What to know about Manhattan Project-era radioactive waste coming to Michigan
Radioactive waste from the Manhattan Project is being shipped to a landfill in Van Buren Township, Michigan, raising alarms about potential hazards and sparking public outrage.
Wayne Disposal’s permit renewal a potential flashpoint in Michiganders’ fight to stop radioactive waste
Around 80 Belleville residents gathered Tuesday to discuss ways to block radioactive waste from entering their community, focusing the discussion on an upcoming permit renewal for the facility receiving the hazardous material. In August, the Detroit Free Press reported that radioactive waste shipments from the Manhattan Project would be sent from the Niagara Falls Storage…
Residents voice anger over nuclear waste dumping at Belleville meeting
Michigan lawmakers say new legislation needed to stop out-of-state waste from coming to the state. Residents say they fear the impacts nuclear waste could have on health and the environment.
Gaps in water testing for radioactive materials
Many attendees expressed concern about hazardous material migrating offsite and impacting waterways and public health during Thursday’s question-and-answer session.
Jackson Pahle, chief of staff for Rep. Miller, asked whether EGLE would enhance groundwater testing for PFAS and radionuclides, or radioactive elements, with the landfill expansion.
Groundwater is tested for PFAS through the facility’s National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System, or NPDES, permit. Leachate, or the slurry created when rainwater mixes with contaminated soil, is treated and sent to the South Huron Valley Utility Authority, a Downriver area wastewater treatment system, according to Joe Rogers, with EGLE’s Material Management Division.
In an affidavit filed in a 2024 lawsuit looking to block the waste from coming to Michigan, Daniel Hensley Alford, system manager for the wastewater system, said the landfill’s permit doesn’t set limits or require testing for radioactive materials.
The wastewater system, which discharges into the Detroit River and Lake Erie, also doesn’t test or treat its wastewater for other radiological material, Alford said.
Republic did not respond to questions about whether it is testing the leachate it sends to the wastewater system for radionuclides.
Area resident Jeneen Rippey asked if the NPDES permit for Quirk Drain, which flows into Belleville Lake, includes any testing for radionuclides.
Jay Paquette, unit supervisor for radioactive materials at EGLE, said: “The NPDES permit, to my knowledge, does not have any radiological testing requirements.”
Wayne County Commissioner Al Wilson called regulators’ attention to how Wayne Disposal could be affected by ongoing issues with heavy rainstorms and flooding.
“Once the perfect storm hits, you have 350,000 residents within a 10-mile radius of Wayne Disposal Incorporated,” he said.
EGLE official confirms some radioactive waste being ‘down blended’
The mixing of hazardous waste with other materials before disposal is not allowed, EGLE’s Matlock said in response to a question at Thursday’s meeting.
Paquette said a separate Republic facility within Wayne Disposal, Michigan Disposal, does “down blend” radioactive waste for disposal.
Wayne Disposal is allowed to dispose of TENORM, or technologically enhanced naturally occurring radiological material. Michigan Disposal down blends some higher radiation waste for disposal, and this makes up 0.5% of the radiological waste the facility receives, Paquette said.
Rep. Miller and State Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) introduced legislation in April that, among other provisions, would:
- Raise tipping fees for landfill waste, hazardous materials and radioactive waste.
- Require the state to adopt a new hazardous waste plan and limited activity radioactive material plan and update it every five years.
- Issue a moratorium on licenses for new hazardous waste facilities until EGLE completes the hazardous waste plan and extend the moratorium for new facilities or expansions if they would cause the total capacity in an area to exceed limits set in the plan.
- Prohibit the down blending of TENORM.
- Prohibit the disposal of certain types of TENORM.
- Prohibit new or expanded hazardous waste facilities and class VI injections in overburdened communities or areas that exceed certain population densities.
- Increase the financial assurance required for facility operators.
- Create funds with tipping fees for cleanup and redevelopment, materials management, and host communities.
Miller acknowledged it may be difficult to secure support for the legislation in the Republican-led House, especially because her seat is vulnerable, and Republican lawmakers may be reluctant to hand her a win. The mass of bipartisan support for the legislation in the area could sway lawmakers, she said.
“We’ve got such a powerful force behind this, they can’t ignore it,” she said in a phone interview with Planet Detroit.
A judge is also hearing a case which could block Manhattan Project-era waste from being sent to Wayne Disposal. Residents opposing the waste transfer hope the case could set a precedent that blocks shipment from other sites, WDET reports.
EGLE will decide on Republic’s expansion proposal this year, likely late in the summer, according to Tracy Kecskemeti, acting director of EGLE’s Materials Management Division.
Before EGLE makes its decision, it will allow the public to comment on its draft ruling and hold another meeting, she said. The agency cannot take into account the necessity of the expansion or level of public support, Kecskemeti said.
“We have to make the decision based on whether or not what the company is proposing in their application complies with existing law.”
Editor’s note: This story has been updated to correct the spelling of Quirk Drain.