By Staff
LANSING -- The Michigan Senate Tuesday passed sweeping restrictions on the importation of Canadian and out-of-state waste, set a two-year moratorium on new landfills and gave broader authority to the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to enforce these tougher garbage standards.
Sen. Patty Birkholz, chairwoman of the Senate Natural Resources and Environmental Affairs Committee, said this legislative package represents a bipartisan effort to limit the importation of Canadian and out-of-state waste.
Canadian and out-of-state-waste accounts for approximately 25 percent of all trash entering Michigan's landfills.
Sikkema, R-Wyoming, said the package provides a comprehensive revision of the state's solid-waste management laws to include additional protections against the disposal of inappropriate waste in Michigan's landfills.
The legislation requires all Canadian and out-of-state waste to meet the same stringent standards Michigan has for its own waste.
Landfills would be required to refuse any out-of-state waste that did not meet the tough standards.
The bills:
Random inspections also could be conducted to help insure compliance.
Nine of the 11 bills now go to the governor for signing.