The fight continues for environmental justice

Despite protests over a nearby recycling center seeking to store tens of thousands of gallons of toxic waste, a state agency gave its blessing.
Since state officials refused to listen to the objections, which included objections from Hamtramck residents, the next best thing was done.
They took the matter to court.
Great Lakes Environmental Law Center joined with the protestors, and filed a lawsuit against the Michigan Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) for granting the US Ecology North facility the go-ahead to store radio-active fracking waste at its facility.
The ironically named “Ecology” plant can now store thousands of tons of this waste, despite the fact that it is near a neighborhood – a neighborhood that is located about a mile east of Hamtramck.
That’s still too close for comfort for Hamtramck because, if this waste were to spill, it could affect Hamtramck.
Even if the location was not a direct threat to Hamtramck, the facility is located in an area where most of the residents are minorities.
Seven out of eight such facilities are located in similar neighborhoods.
Funny – isn’t it? — how these facilities are never anywhere near swanky communities like Birmingham.
The Great Lakes attorneys say allowing the facility to be here, and accept toxic waste, is just another form of discrimination against minorities.
While we think the lawsuit is worthy, we have little hope that the courts will do anything to change the situation.
It seems like these things are often stacked up against low-income folks.
Hamtramck resident Sharon Buttry said it best in our article about the lawsuit in last week’s issue:
“I decided to sign on as a complainant because cancer and asthma are life-and-death matters, as I well know in my own family. I hope that my participation will save lives in the future, and make environmental justice a hallmark of our state,” Buttry said.
Let Buttry’s words sink in:
“… make environmental justice a hallmark in our state.”
One can only hope.
Posted Aug. 21, 2020