UPDATE ON THE US ECOLOGY SOUTH PERMIT:  A TIMELINE

US ECOLOGY DETROIT SOUTH: 
A BRIEF RECENT HISTORY OF THE FIGHT :
· 2016:  The US Ecology North - Georgia Street Host Community Agreement started in 2016 and signed in 2018.  The Coalition and local community led the efforts to establish this agreement for the North facility. 
  • 2016: Because of the win for the Georgia Street community, a request was made to the operators of US Ecology to establish a community agreement for the South facility. 
  • December, 2018 - The first recorded request for a Community Agreement for US Ecology South came at the tour of US Ecology South with 11 community members and Sen. Chang, hosted by Ramond. 
  • December, 2019 - We Rallied and Marched against US Ecology accepting PFAS organized by the Coalition. 
  • April 7, 2022 Coalition members started a petition for a Host Community Agreement with over 500 signatures - Breathe Free Detroit and community members organized with the Coalition to gather signatures and record community requests for environmental protections. 
    • Canvassers went out to gather signatures and meet with neighbors throughout the summer of 2022
  • May 5/6, 2022 - Congressional Visit and Toxic Tour - BFD and Coalition members met with Natural Resources Committee Chairman Grijalva and staff at US Ecology to address ongoing EJ Concerns with this committee and with State Representative Aiyash, Congresswoman Tlaib, Nick Leonard Director of the Great Lakes Environmental Law Center
  • July 7, 2022 - Press Conference on Noxious Odor Emissions from US Ecology South demanding a HCA with State Rep. Abraham Aiyash (D-Hamtramck), Congresswoman Rashida Tlaib (D-Detroit), state Sen. Stephanie Chang (D-Detroit). Organized by the Detroit Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Healthy Environments, Breathe Free Detroit,  Ecology Center and local residents. 
    • Rep. Aiyash, Congresswoman Tlaib, Sen. Chang, environmental justice advocacy groups and residents hosted a press conference to call on the city of Detroit to hold US Ecology South accountable for its repeated odor violations and failure to be a good neighbor to the residents near the facility. Speakers called on the city leaders to begin the process of enacting a “Host Community Agreement” with US Ecology South with the purpose of securing specific regulations and community benefits that will reduce the facility’s impact on residents. 
  • August 25, 2022 Rep. Ro Khanna, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment, and Subcommittee Vice Chair Rep. Rashida Tlaib held a Congressional Field Hearing in Detroit, Michigan to examine the gaps in current laws and regulations that leave frontline communities vulnerable to pollution.  
    • The hearing focused on the reality of living in “sacrifice zones” specifically around Detroit Renewable Power (the former Incinerator), US Ecology South (current Hazardous Waste Facility), and Stilantis (current Jeep Assembly Plant) — areas where lives are being sacrificed for the profits of corporate polluters. 
    • Breathe Free Detroit's very own Pamela McGhee and Robyn Redding testified about the harms of living near the impact zones of these legacy polluting facilities. Their testimonies were included in the US Congressional Record. 
  • November, 2022 : EPA Region 5 meeting regarding concerns of US Ecology South - organized by ECN. 
  • December, 2022: Met again with EPA Region 5 Officials at US Ecology to discuss the harms our community has endured from the lack of regulations and regulatory updates to waste facilities including the incinerator. 
  • December, 2022: Met with US Ecology to work on a potential Host Community Agreement for our community who experiences continuous odor issues from their facility. 
    • The only outcome from this meeting was to include US Ecology South communities within the Quarterly meetings required by the US Ecology North HCA. This was not agreeable by BFD or the Coalition.  
  • Early 2023: 
    • The city communicated with us that they will not sign a HCA because it was not legally viable
    • Meetings with BFD and state policy makers to create and strengthen laws to protect communities living near hazardous waste facilities and legacy polluters: 
      • Sen. Chang’s Cumulative Impact Bill and SB 26, her air quality enforcement & mitigation fund bill to direct the fines paid by corporations when they violate our air quality standards to go back directly to impacted communities. 
      • Rep. Aiyash’s Environmental Justice Bill. (more info to come)
    • BFD led monthly meetings with Detroit City Council’s Green Task Force: State and Local Policy Subcommittee addressing concerns with US Ecology South to Wayne County and City officials who utilize this company’s services. 
    • BFD organizing community meetings with the D/H Coalition and Michigan’s Environmental Justice Caucus
  • February 15, 2023 - GAIA published Zero Waste to Zero Emissions Report release on Detroit’s waste stream, including information for US Ecology. 
  • February 21, 2023 - BFD, the Coalition, and Ecology Center organized to stop US Ecology from accepting hazardous waste from the E. Palestine disaster.  Waste stopped being sent to Belleview after policymakers spoke out with concerns. 
  • May, 2023 - Bellevue Meeting about E. Palestine haz. waste and followup letter to EPA and EGLE
  • June, 2023 - Meeting with Rep. Tlaib, staff, community members and Republic Services - to address ongoing concerns, their plans for investments to this facility, and a Community Agreement in the form of a CBA or another type of agreement since a HCA is not possible without the support of City Council.  [Why we changed our language from a HCA to a Community Agreement]
  • US ECOLOGY SHUT DOWN JUNE 2023:  ​https://www.bridgedetroit.com/did-hazardous-waste-facilitys-unreported-errors-put-detroiters-at-risk/
  • Sept 14, 2023 - Coalition and BFD led Community Meeting with MDEGLE about US Ecology South at Sweet Kingdom Baptist Church - to learn more about the violations, temporary shutdown, and future operations.
  • October 5, 2023  COALITION STRATEGY MEETING discussion on 
    • What is the community ready to support?  
    • Total shut down?  A community agreement process with USE D South? Shut down IF the community agreement process breaks down?   
    • With a focus on health and safety concerns.  
    • Each participant had 3 votes to identify health and safety priorities that were shared with Republic Services.  
    • Community leaders selected at this meeting shared the priorities at the next meeting on 10/12/23.
  • October 12, 2023 - COALITION MEETING with RUSS KNOCKE, VP Public and Gov't Affairs for REPUBLIC SERVICES At this meeting, the priorities identified on 10/5 were shared with Republic Services by the community leaders selected on 10/5/23.  Republic Services also had a presentation on their Detroit facilities, progress on addressing community concerns and about the community agreements they have brokered in other US locations. 
  • November 6, 2023 - Laura Herberg of WDET has put together a news story about the Community Meeting on October 12 with Republic Services.  Many  community leaders and groups spoke out about the environmental impact of living and breathing near the Detroit South Facility (formerly US Ecology South) and proposed solutions. 
  • November 16, 2023 - Coalition meeting about the geology around US Ecology North and South to get community members more information about the hazardous waste leaks. 
  • December 7, 2023 - Coalition meeting about vegetative buffers and how it can help reduce the pollution around US Ecology - guest speakers from DFC. 
  • December 13, 2023 - Coalition organized a meeting with City officials, GLWA, and Republic Services about the sewers near US Ecology. We know Republic Services/Detroit South discharges wastewater into the sewer sanitary system, per their permit. What we don't know is the integrity of the infrastructure as the wastewater flows out into the area.  Our citizen science investigations indicate significant problems.  We are simply asking the City of Detroit to inspect and remedy that system within the bounds of their responsibility. (notes)
  • January 11, 2024 - Grassroots Detroit organized a dialogue to receive updates on operations at the Detroit South Facility.
  • January 18, 2024 - Coalition meeting about VOC’s entering into homes near US Ecology. Residents were urged to participate in the WSU study. 
  • February 29, 2024 - Coalition meeting with Coalition members reporting back about:
    • Clogged sewer study just outside of Republic Services Detroit South site (formerly US Ecology South). 
    • Ongoing negotiations for a Community benefits agreement with Republic Services for the DS site
  • March - Today - ongoing subcommittee work on a draft community agreement - updates are provided at Coalition meetings.
  • June 20, 2024 - Coalition Meeting Presentation: “From Degradation to Repair: What Detroit’s Wastewater Management Tells Us About Environmental Injustice”
  • August 30, 2024  Deadline to comment on current draft community agreement:

 Community  Notice  - 
Action Required
A Community Benefit Agreement (CBA) is being drafted for US Ecology South and we need your voice to make it right! Suggestions and additions to this current draft are due August 30, 2024 

Send your suggestions, comments, or additions to:  OR … Contact Republic Services by phone at (313)815-8022 
  • Call and leave a message
  • Text a recorded message
  • Send a video recording 
OR … Make changes onto a printed copy of the draft and deliver it to US Ecology South Attn: Phil Tannian 1923 Frederick St. Detroit Mi. 4821


Read the draft online by following this link:  bit.ly/ CBA-DRAFT      {Please note: the link is case sensitive}
or use the QR CODE: 
​
​​RELEASE INVENTORY FOR 48211, 48212 and 48213 ZIP CODES :
toxic_release_inventory_48211_48212_48213.xlsx
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​GLEL article links: 
https://www.bridgedetroit.com/michigan-stopped-ohio-toxic-waste-last-week-but-we-import-waste-every-day/

https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/toxic-wastes-and-race-at-twenty-1987-2007.pdf

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​FENCELINE HOUSTON OFFICIAL STATEMENT: TOXIC WASTE FROM OHIO DERAILMENT HEADED TO HOUSTON SHIP CHANNEL  Official Statement From Fenceline Watch

For Immediate Release: February 23, 2023
We are outraged by today's announcement that toxic waste from the Ohio train disaster will be injected
along Houston Ship Channel communities. Fenceline communities, especially those in Texas, which leads the nation in uninsured
1and last in the nation for prenatal and maternal care; we are forced to absorb the deadly costs of these toxic disasters. Waste transporters, Texas Molecular, has been the subject of 10 compliance investigations by the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality in the past five years. Texas Molecular has admitted that there is potential for this injected toxic water to the surface, stating:"Could it come up someday? Yes, maybe, but hundreds of years from now or thousands of years from now."
Communities from the Gulf Coast to Appalachia subsidize the cost of cheap disposable plastic at the fenceline of oil rigs, petrochemical plants, and incinerators. Enough studies and reports have confirmed the price we pay with our lives, from shortened lifespans, reproductive harm, and developmental issues; these toxics trespass our bodies and harm our communities for generations. Holding polluters accountable and creating safety controls is the bare minimum. As a community-based organization in Houston, Texas, at the mouth of the largest petrochemical complex in the nation (over 618 petrochemical manufacturers), we have experienced catastrophes first-hand. Industries will always use a jobs argument and never mention the explosions, water contamination, dumping grounds, poor working conditions, or lives lost. Fortunately, a growing consciousness of plastic's true cost permeates society and openly resists the sacrifice we pay for trash. Connecting our communities in these times of need further fuels our efforts, volunteer base, and supporters. Fenceline Watch has and continues to share information on what Ohio communities should be asking from officials. We are actively developing a resource for communities facing chemical disasters it will formally launch later this year. While the toxic fumes may have settled, yet another community is scarred by legacy contamination's impact. Like so many, we fight for our lives by changing the rules, translating information, fighting permits against these polluting industries, and closing knowledge gaps. At the global level, hundreds of countriesare taking action through the Global Plastics Treaty. At the national level, Senator Booker (D-NJ), Rep.
Huffman (CA-2), Senator Merkley (D-OR), and over 40 congresspeople, including Texas' own Rep. Lloyd Doggett, are calling on EPA to address the plastic crisis with SB 5163, Protecting Communities from Plastic Act. The tragedy in East Palestine, Ohio, was caused by the fossil fuels industries' endless appetite to produce more and more plastic. The railroad derailed, but the chemicals contaminated an
entire community's water, air, and homes.
-Fenceline Watch, A Houston-based environmental justice organization
References:  https://www.congress.gov/bill/117th-congress/senate-bill/5163
 https://www.unep.org/about-un-environment/inc-plastic-pollution
https://www15.tceq.texas.gov/crpub/index.cfm?fuseaction=iwr.invdetail&addn_id=378294962003100&re_id=334380692001134
 https://www.texmed.org/Template.aspx?id=59688
 https://www.texastribune.org/2022/03/21/texas-medicaid-insurance/
Fenceline Watch | Houston, Texas | [email protected] | www.fencelinewatch.com
​
 Picture
Toxic waste from the East Palestine, Ohio derailment being transported to US Ecology in Belleville, MI and injected along the Houston ship channel. 
https://www.fox2detroit.com/news/ohio-train-derailment-toxic-materials-to-be-sent-to-wayne-county-for-disposal

www.wfmj.com/story/48439811/contaminated-soil-from-east-palestine-train-derailment-heading-for-michigan

https://www.wired.com/story/the-ohio-derailment-lays-bare-the-hellish-plastic-crisis/

Van Buren Township, just outside Detroit... What we know and don’t know.
https://www.clickondetroit.com/news/local/2023/02/21/van-buren-township-train-derailment-what-we-know-and-dont-know

here is an update that moving waste to Michigan has been halted https://www.cbsnews.com/amp/detroit/news/toxic-waste-coming-from-ohio-to-michigan-following-train-derailment/  

February 25th, 2023OHIO EMERGENCY MANAGEMENT https://ema.ohio.gov/media-publications/news/east-palestine-update-022523
Please note, that as of MARCH 1, 2023 the removal of toxic waste at the E. Palatine, Ohio site has resumed. (The article states that it was paused). 

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​NOTES FROM DENISE TRABBIC POINTER, volunteer with Sierra Club  and retired chemical  engineer: 
Denise Trabbic-Pointer Wed, Mar 1, 10:12 AM
I wanted to also share my thoughts and knowledge on the trans-state boundary movement of hazardous waste. 

Generators of hazardous waste are responsible to characterize their waste and to determine the best, properly permitted type of treatment, storage and disposal facility (TSDF) to send it to. They often also consider the most environmentally beneficial, safe disposal method. For example, high-BTU VOC wastes are ideally recycled but if they cannot be, it is better to dispose of in a "waste to energy" facility vs incineration. Unless it is soil, landfilling hazardous waste is generally the least desired option. I personally never sent waste for deep=well injection.   In the case of contaminated soil, whether from an incident like East Palestine, an onsite release at a facility, or from planned remediation work, the best way to dispose of contaminated soil is usually at a properly permitted landfill. In the case of East Palestine, the soil is likely a listed hazardous waste. There aren't many permitted hazardous waste landfills and Wayne Disposal (WDI) in Belleville is one of them. They are also a TSCA landfill and can accept PCB-contaminated waste. 

The basic message here is that every day, wastes are being shipped to other states. Ironically, I looked at US Ecology Detroit South RCRAInfo information this morning and they send residual hazardous wastes from their operations to Ross Incineration in Grafton, Ohio. When I was responsible for the Mt Clemens DuPont Plant, I also shipped some of our wastes to Ross because they have uniquique capabilities to incinerate waste there. We also had legacy PCB issues and, besides sending our solid PCB wastes to WDI, we had to ship any liquid PCB wastes all the way to Texas because there are even fewer TSCA incinerators. 

As I mentioned last evening, how the railroad shipped waste initially was very poorly managed. The following is the most recent information I have on the status of the East Palestine waste, except the movement of waste is no longer on pause.

Ohio EMS 2/25 update:
Contaminated Waste Removal
The removal of hazardous waste from the derailment site has been paused by the U.S. EPA.
In an update to the public on Thursday, the state provided information that Norfolk Southern had chosen to contract with licensed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facilities in Texas and Michigan for the disposal of hazardous waste from the derailment.
According to the U.S. EPA, the U.S. EPA ordered the transport be stopped so that additional oversight measures could be put in place to supervise where Norfolk Southern disposes of the contaminated materials. 
Of the twenty truckloads (approximately 280 tons) of hazardous solid waste hauled away from the derailment site, 15 truckloads of contaminated soil had already been disposed of at the licensed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility in Michigan. Five truckloads of contaminated soil were returned to East Palestine. 
The licensed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility in Texas will dispose of liquid waste that has already been trucked out of East Palestine, but no additional liquid waste will be accepted at the Texas facility at this time.
Currently, about 102,000 gallons of liquid waste and 4,500 cubic yards of solid waste remain in storage on site in East Palestine, not including the five truckloads returned to the village. Additional solid and liquid wastes are being generated as the cleanup progresses.
In all circumstances involving hazardous waste in the United States, the waste must be disposed of at a licensed hazardous waste treatment and disposal facility. All licensed treatment and disposal facilities must meet the requirements of the federal Resource Conservation and Recovery Act’s hazardous waste permitting program, which ensures the safe management of hazardous waste in a manner that protects public health and the environment. Both the Texas and Michigan facilities are licensed. 
Submissions for Congressional Record - Detroit Field Hearing    Sept. 13, 2022 
To Congresswoman Tlaib and Staff,

Please see the information below and linked in this Google Doc gathered to support the testimonies presented at the Congressional Field Hearing regarding the Detroit Incinerator and US Ecology.  All of this information can be used for any letters sent to US Ecology or regulatory agencies. 

US Ecology Articles:  Articles about US Ecology and water/sewage issues 
  • Article (September, 2020): Communities of color are dumping grounds for toxic waste in Michigan
    • From the article: “Over the past 10 years, U.S. Ecology has been cited more than 150 times for releasing excessive amounts of toxic chemicals into the sewer system, according to Great Lake Water Authority records… U.S. Ecology has dumped an excessive amount of nearly two dozen types of hazardous chemicals or metals into the sewer system, environmental records show. Wastewater sampling found alarmingly high levels of arsenic, mercury, and titanium in the sewer system near U.S. Ecology.”
  • Article (November, 2016): US Ecology's permit violations anger Detroit neighbors  
    • From the article: “A hazardous waste processing facility in Detroit … has released excessive amounts of mercury, arsenic, cyanide and other toxic chemicals into the city sewer system more than 150 times since September 2010, a review of Great Lakes Water Authority records shows … The records show frequent, sometimes alarming, violations of permitted maximum discharges on at least 20 hazardous chemicals or metals, either discovered by the authority during inspections or self-reported by US Ecology at its facility on Georgia Street near the Hamtramck border. The records also show that the company almost never provided a written explanation to Water Authority officials about why a violation occurred and why it wouldn't again in the future, a requirement of its permit.”
Reports, Petition, and Information on US Ecology:  Attached information for Detroit Incinerator:  Incinerator Articles:
Sincerely, 

KT Andresky
Campaign Organizer
Breathe Free Detroit

Melissa Sargent Cooper
Ecology Center

Reverend Sharon Buttry
Detroit Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Healthy Environments


EVERYTHING YOU EVER WANTED TO KNOW ABOUT REGULATED WASTE FACILITIES IN MI: 

accessing_regulated_facility_information.pdf
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Detroit Hamtramck Coalition for Advancing Healthy Environments