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Dingell Calls for Action on Imported Waste Washington, D.C. – Congressman John D. Dingell, D-Mich., today released a study he requested concerning U.S.-Canadian agreements of imported trash that shows that both countries have blatantly ignored a 1992 agreement that obligates Canada to notify the U.S. of impending shipments of municipal solid waste into the U.S. "It is outrageous that any Administration would take the time to enter into a notification agreement on imported waste and then, over ten years, never even bother to see that it’s implemented," Dingell said. "Unfortunately it appears that our own Government doesn’t care if Michiganders are literally buried by unwanted, imported trash." The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) as the "designated authority" for the United States should receive notification and have 30 days to respond and object or consent to the shipment(s). To date, EPA has never been notified or questioned Canada’s failure to contact them. Dingell has called on EPA Administrator Whitman to immediately implement and comply with the notice and consent provisions of the agreement. "As if Michigan isn’t the recipient of enough trash, the City of Toronto recently made a decision to use our state as the dumping ground for all of its city trash" said Dingell. "Apparently their land, which is plentiful, is too precious for their own waste. It’s past time for them to learn to deal with their own messes." According to the latest available information for fiscal year 2001, Canada is sending 5.8 million cubic yards of municipal solid waste to the State of Michigan annually for disposal. Dingell has called on Rep. Paul Gillmor, Chairman of the Subcommittee on Environment and Hazardous Material, to take action on his legislation, the Solid Waste Interstate Transportation Act of 2001. Dingell’s bill, which he has consistently supported with other Republican and Democratic members of the Committee, will give states and localities the authority to control interstate waste shipments but does not give states outright authority to ban all out-of-state trash. Dingell also requested the authority to ban foreign imports as provided in H.R. 1927, sponsored by Rep. Mike Rogers, R-Mich., be considered by the Subcommittee if it determines that such authority is consistent with the national treatment requirements of the North American Free Trade Agreement. "The thousands upon thousands of truck loads of Canadian waste received each year deliver much more to Michigan than garbage. Each and every truck adds to our already congested highways, spurs new concerns over traffic safety, pollutes our air and eats up our energy, not to mention our roads," Dingell noted. During the past two years, imports from Canada have risen 152 percent and now constitute almost half the imported waste received at Michigan landfills. - 30 - [Editor’s Note] Interested Reporters: Link to: Ltr.
to Administrator Whitman
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