WAYNE COUNTY, Mich. – As we approach a decision on whether Wayne Disposal will be permitted to expand and dispose of nuclear waste from the Manhattan Project in Buffalo, New York, residents near the dump site are making it clear: they don’t want it.
“EGLE, E, G, L, E, just keeps on rubber stamping their permits one after another, and next thing you know, we’re sitting next to the largest nuclear waste dump east of the Mississippi snuggled just put right in the middle of a 10 Mile population of 365,000 people,” said Chris Donley.
In the name of transparency, the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy, and the EPA held an open discussion at Wayne County Community College, where they answered any questions that attendees may have had.
EGLE Radioactive Materials Unit Supervisor Jay Paquette with EGLE says the short answer is yes.
“It doesn’t have to deal with did it come from the Manhattan Project, did it come from the US Army core of Engineers. Is the waste meeting the acceptance criteria of the facility? That’s what we evaluate it based on,” said Paquette.
Waste has to be tested before being sent to Wayne Disposal. However, even with that, County Executive Warren C. Evans doesn’t believe Wayne County should be the home to more waste, especially considering the facility’s track record.
“They’ve been cited 119 times since they’ve been in operation for hazardous material-related problems, 119 times. Are you kidding me?” said Evans.
With that in mind, Executive Evans wrote an open letter to EGLE, pleading with them to go a different direction.
“I thought it was very important to say that we’ve had significant problems with it. We don’t think it should be there. We certainly don’t think it should be expanded upon,” Evans said.
A decision will likely be made later this summer. In the meantime, you can read Evans’ letter to EGLE in its entirety below.