Congress members Tlaib, Dingell, Thanedar hosting public forum on Michigan waste disposal policies

Owners of the waste site facility want their license renewed by the state.

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.

This week, several Michigan members of Congress are set to hold a public forum on waste disposal in the state.

The forum comes after Michigan lawmakers raised concerns about toxic waste transported from a recent train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio.

Michigan officials said they felt blindsided by news in February that the Norfolk Southern railroad had contracted to dispose of contaminated material from East Palestine at an injection well site in Romulus.

The Environmental Protection Agency briefly paused the shipments.

But Michigan Congresswoman Debbie Dingell has long had concerns about the Romulus disposal site.

Dingell is scheduled to join U.S. Reps. Rashida Tlaib and Shri Thanedar for a public Q&A session about toxic waste sites in Michigan on Thursday.

The forum also includes top officials from the EPA, the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, as well as representatives from the Norfolk Southern and the owners of the injection well — who want the state to renew the sites’ operating license and approve expanding a disposal facility in Van Buren Township.

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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.