Law suit over radio-active waste disposal moved to federal court

Wayne Disposal, Inc., the hazardous waste landfill in Van Buren Township, moved the lawsuit filed against it to federal court on Oct. 15, citing a constitutional clause it argues blocks western Wayne County communities’ fight against its disposal of waste from a Manhattan Project cleanup site.
According to a report in The Detroit News, Wayne Disposal cited the U.S. Constitution’s Commerce Clause in its notice to move the case to U.S. District Court of the Eastern District of Michigan.
The company contends the clause “has long provided that ‘the problems of waste disposal’ represent ‘a matter national in scope and in concern'” and does not allow states or local governments to unilaterally stop shipments of out-of-state waste.
It also argued stopping the waste shipments would “fundamentally interfere” with the federal hazardous waste program and create a problem for the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, which is charged with remediating Manhattan Project sites.
Belleville, Romulus, Canton Charter Township, Van Buren Charter Township and Van Buren Township fire chief filed a lawsuit against Wayne Disposal Inc. in September in Wayne County Circuit Court, with Wayne County later joining their effort.
The municipalities argue the landfill put their residents in danger by disposing of waste with low levels of radioactivity. They said they were “kept in the dark” about the hazardous material and are not equipped to respond if the material escapes.
The case has so far resulted in a delay of Wayne Disposal Inc.’s plan to import and dispose of waste with low levels of radioactivity from a cleanup site in western New York, although Wayne County Circuit Court Judge Kevin Cox allowed the landfill to continue importing similar waste from other sites.