LANSING, Mich. (March 8, 2023) — Today, Wayne County elected officials called for the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes and Energy to hold an additional public hearing on the Romulus Deep Injection Well site’s permits, citing years of community issues with the facility and a lack of transparency with toxic material being transported from the East Palestine, OH train derailment site.
The letter, sent by State Sen. Darrin Camilleri (D-Trenton) and State Reps. Reggie Miller (D-Van Buren) and Dylan Wegela (D-Garden City), detailed these transparency issues and called for an additional public hearing so residents can ask questions and make their voices heard on this issue.
The site, owned by US Ecology/Republic Services, has been controversial since its inception, drawing near-constant concerns from the community as well as state and local officials. Camilleri, Miller, and Wegela shared their concerns for keeping the residents they serve safe and informed, and emphasized the need for accountability and transparency by the deep injection wells site and its parent company.
“When the last public hearing on permitting for this site took place on February 1, a member of our staff was present, and we found it concerning that less than a dozen individuals were present at this meeting, including very few members of the public and no elected officials,” the letter states. “This has been a thirty-year fight, and we believe the community has a right to make their voices heard on a site that continues to bring hazardous waste into our area.”