SR-17, As Adopted by Senate, March 2, 2023
SENATE RESOLUTION NO.17
Senators Camilleri, Geiss, Singh, Chang, Bayer and Damoose
offered the following resolution:
1 A resolution to encourage the United States Federal Government
2 to increase transparency and notification standards around the
3 transportation of toxic waste materials across state and community
4 lines.
5 Whereas, On February 3, 2023, a Norfolk Southern train
6 derailed in East Palestine, Ohio, spilling hazardous chemicals. The
7 spill killed numerous wildlife, prompted hundreds of people to
8 evacuate their homes, and caused many residents to complain about
9 rashes, sore throats, and headaches; and
10 Whereas, Solid toxic waste from the crash was sent to the U.S.
11 Ecology’s Wayne Disposal Inc. Hazardous Waste Landfill in
12 Belleville, and liquid toxic waste was sent to the Republic
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1 Industrial and Energy Solutions LLC facility in Romulus. However,
2 Michigan’s state officials and congressional representatives were
3 not notified or consulted in the decision to send toxic waste to
4 Belleville and Romulus until February 24, 2023; and
5 Whereas, Federal law requires generators of hazardous waste to
6 prepare a manifest when the waste is shipped off-site to track it
7 from the point of generation to a waste management facility that
8 will store, treat, or dispose of the waste. The manifest form
9 contains information on the type and quantity of the waste being
10 transported, instructions for handling the waste, and signature
11 lines for all parties that handle the waste. Each party that
12 handles the waste keeps a copy of the manifest for their own
13 records; and
14 Whereas, Federal law lacks uniform reporting and notification
15 requirements, instead deferring to state laws to regulate the
16 details of waste being transported through their jurisdictions.
17 This jeopardizes the health and safety of citizens across America,
18 because first responders are at elevated risk of being unprepared
19 for accidents involving transportation of hazardous waste passing
20 through their communities. Further, waste generators must comply
21 with a patchwork of varying regulations, increasing the likelihood
22 of non-compliance and inadequate information sharing; now,
23 therefore, be it
24 Resolved by the Senate, That we encourage the United States
25 Federal Government to increase national transparency and
26 notification standards around the transportation of hazardous waste
27 materials across state and community lines to include advance
28 notice to governors’ offices and state and local officials for
29 impacted areas, including the communities that the waste will be
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1 traveling through; and be it further
2 Resolved, That copies of this resolution be transmitted to the
3 administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency and Michigan’s
4 senatorial and congressional delegation.
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