Debbie Dingell wants to re-open public comment on Romulus waste site license renewal

The move comes as the EPA warns states not to block contaminated waste coming from the Ohio train wreck.

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

This photo taken with a drone shows portions of a Norfolk and Southern freight train that derailed Friday night in East Palestine, Ohio are still on fire at mid-day Saturday, Feb. 4, 2023.

Several Metro Detroit members of Congress, including Rep. Debbie Dingell, want state regulators to re-open public comment about renewing the license for a site that accepted hazardous waste from the recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio last month.

The move comes as the Environmental Protection Agency is warning states not to block contaminated waste coming from the Ohio train wreck.

The EPA briefly paused the shipments after lawmakers in Michigan and Texas complained they were blindsided by news that the waste was headed to their states.

Dingell wants Michigan environmental officials to hear more from the public before renewing the operating license for the disposal site in Romulus — about 20 miles southwest of Detroit.

Dingell noted weeks ago she and her late husband, former Congressman John Dingell, long had concerns about the storage facility.

“My husband and I were both opposed to the Romulus site — I remain opposed to that,” says Dingell. “I don’t think these kinds of sites should be in populated areas.”

Dingell says public comment on the site’s renewal application had closed by the time waste arrived from East Palestine.

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  • Quinn Klinefelter
    Quinn Klinefelter is a Senior News Editor at 101.9 WDET. In 1996, he was literally on top of the news when he interviewed then-Senator Bob Dole about his presidential campaign and stepped on his feet.