EMAIL UPDATE
Date: February 15, 2004
Contact: Senator Debbie Stabenow
U.S. Senate
Email: senator@stabenow.senate.gov
With the start of a new year . . .
. . I want to share with you a progress report of what we have accomplished in 2003 on stopping Canadian trash and protecting our borders from the homeland security risks these trash shipments present.
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality recently reported that the volume of waste from Canada has climbed 43 percent in 2003. This increase is on top of the 40% increase in trash from 2001 to 2002. This report is very disturbing and reaffirms my commitment to stop this unprecedented flow of trash into our state.
As you know, Michigan citizens have said “enough is enough” — we do not want to be Canada’s “trash can.” Although there is considerable work to be done, some progress has been made this last year to both limit and screen Canadian trash crossing our borders.
Over 165,000 Michigan Citizens Sign Trash Petition
Your signature has made the difference in raising this issue nationally. Residents from all 83 Michigan counties have signed the Online Petition to Stop Canadian Trash – an unprecedented response.
On October 1, 2003, I met with EPA Administrator Mike Leavitt and presented your petition to him. He promised to examine the issue and pledged to keep in contact with me about this issue. In December 2003, Administrator Leavitt sent a team from the EPA to meet with Toronto city officials about the imports of their trash into Michigan.
I also presented your petition to Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge during a recent tour of the Blue Water Bridge in Port Huron. I am pleased to tell you that the Department of Homeland Security (DHS) will conduct an investigation of Customs’ screening of Canadian trash trucks in 2004 to increase their effectiveness.
Inspections at Border Stop Dangerous Trash Shipments
On April 16, 2003, the Senate passed a new law, which I authored, to require Customs to inspect all municipal solid waste trucks that cross the Blue Water and Ambassador Bridges and to require the installation of radiation inspection equipment at these ports of entry. Inspections began in May of 2003.
As a result of this equipment, the Blue Water Bridge port director reports that three to four Canadian trash trucks per week are being turned back at the border for containing dangerous radioactive materials such as medical waste. In September 2003, a variety of smuggled substances were detected, including one ton of illegal drugs valued at $9 million. This was one of the largest drug busts in Michigan history.
Importation of Canadian Yard Waste Threatens Michigan Trees
The Asian long-horned beetle was discovered in Woodbridge, Ontario in September 2003, and the affected areas were placed under quarantine. The beetle is extremely destructive to hardwood trees, particularly maple, poplar and willow trees, and would present a serious threat to Michigan trees if this beetle were imported into our state.
Despite the fact that it is illegal to dump yard waste in Michigan landfills, a September 2003 report from the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) found more than 25 percent of waste being imported from Ontario into Michigan contained yard waste. This Canadian waste contained the highest percentage of yard waste of all waste that comes into Michigan.
I authored an amendment to the 2004 Appropriations bill that responds to this serious threat. The law directs the Animal Plant Health Inspection Service (APHIS) at the Department of Agriculture to comprehensively review and report whether their procedures and regulations are adequate to prevent the spread of the Asian long-horned beetle into Michigan by way of commercial vehicles, including trash trucks.
Continuing the Fight to Stop Canadian Trash
In addition to these efforts to screen trash imports at our border and to rally support for the enforcement of our waste treaty with Canada, I have introduced S. 383, the Canadian Waste Import Ban, to place an immediate federal ban on the importation of Canadian municipal solid waste until the EPA enforces the United State’s treaty with Canada – the Agreement Concerning the Transboundary Movement of Hazardous Waste.
The treaty requires the EPA to obtain Michigan’s approval before consenting to any shipment of Canadian municipal solid waste. The EPA must consider the impact of waste shipments on homeland security, the environment, and public health.
We have made progress, but I will not stop fighting until these Canadian trash shipments stop coming into Michigan. Thank you for your continued dedication and support of this important issue.
Sincerely,
Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
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