DEARBORN – U.S. Rep Debbie Dingell (D-Dearborn) has asked the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers for details into why the Corps is planning on moving a shipment of hazardous, contaminated waste into Michigan for disposal.

In a letter to Lt. General Todd Semonite, commanding general to the Corps, Dingell asked why the Michigan site was selected and what resources the Corps plans to use to “ensure the remediation process and disposal of these contaminated material are 100 percent safe.”

Dingell also asked if there are other options for disposing the waste “if the community decides they do not want the proposed contaminated waste.”

It was reported earlier this week that the Corps of Engineers planned to move the materials from a site near Lake Erie into Michigan. In her letter, Dingell said many local officials and residents are “deeply concerned” about potential effects of “disposing contaminated waste in their backyard.”

The waste, which is reported as being radioactive, is planned for shipment to a U.S. Ecology site in Belleville. Corps of Engineers officials have said they will coordinate the move with Michigan’s Department of Environmental Quality.

In her letter, Dingell asked a series of questions related to how the site was chosen, how the Corps was establishing that the transfer will be safe for the environment and the public, how much of the waste is to be shipped to Michigan, how long it will take complete the transfer and when the transfer was to take place. “Please provide a full timeline,” Dingell asked.

This story was published by Gongwer News Service. To subscribe, click on www.gongwer.com