August 31, 2006
Bold, innovative action helps end dumping of Ontario’s trash in Michigan by 2010
LANSING – Governor Jennifer M. Granholm welcomed today’s announcement by U.S. Senators Debbie Stabenow and Carl Levin that they have successfully secured commitments from the Ontario Minister of Environment and Canadian municipal authorities to phase out municipal solid waste shipments to Michigan.
“This innovative agreement frees us from years of Washington gridlock and jump starts our ability to preserve open space, protect our environment, and stop road damage,” said Granholm. “We will no longer have to be used as Canada’s trash can.”
Granholm has signed 14 pieces of state legislation to limit and stop Canadian waste from being dumped in Michigan, but the federal government’s failure to enforce a 1992 bilateral waste agreement with Canada has allowed Canadian waste disposal in Michigan to increase by more than 300 percent over the last decade.
In June 2005, Granholm wrote to Congress in support of H.R. 2491, the International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act of 2005, bipartisan legislation to give states control over the acceptance and management of foreign trash. The House reportedly will vote next week on this legislation.
“I hope Congress passes this legislation. However, the Bush administration has failed to stand up to foreign trash peddlers, and we have no assurance the president would sign this bill into law. Our senators’ plan breaks the gridlock, protects Michigan communities, and gets us real results.”
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