By Staff
WASHINGTON, D.C. – U.S. Rep. Fred Upton, R-Mich., of St. Joseph, hailed the passage the International Solid Waste Importation and Management Act by the United States House of Representatives.
The legislation, co-sponsored by Upton, would help address Michigan's ongoing problem with imported waste from Canada by requiring that the EPA implement and enforce the Bilateral Agreement both countries signed in 1992.
Moreover, the legislation would give Michigan more authority to regulate foreign waste until EPA's final regulations to implement and enforce the Agreement become effective. H.R. 518 passed the House by a voice vote. Similar legislation passed the House last September, but failed to move in the Senate.
"Each year, more and more garbage trucks from our friends to the north cross our borders, and that has got to change – today's vote brings us one step closer to shutting our doors to Canadian garbage once and for all," Upton said. "This is about securing our borders and ensuring public safety -for too long, waste has flowed freely across our border with complete disregard for our well being. As we work to solve our own pollution problems and improve our environment, trash from Canada should not be a consideration. In Michigan, we have been blessed with a scenic shoreline, pristine wilderness, and an abundance of wildlife for us to enjoy. This bill is the right solution to halt the daily parade of the hundreds of trash trucks coming across Michigan's border from Canada that threaten our health and environment. It's now time for the Senate to step up to the plate and do its part."
In 1986, the United States entered into an agreement with Canada on the shipment of transboundary waste. The agreement was amended in 1992 to include municipal solid waste. The agreement requires the Canadian environmental department to notify the EPA for each shipment of waste that enters the United States. The EPA then has 30 days to object to the shipment or accept it.
Instead, the EPA has stood idly by as more than 415 trash trucks have crossed into Michigan on a daily basis, the EPA refuses to answer Congressional inquiries on this issue.
Over the last several years, the Michigan Congressional Delegation has urged EPA to implement the agreement and Reps. Dingell, Rogers, Stupak and Upton have amended EPA's budget to provide $1 million in funding to do so, Upton said. Nonetheless, to date, the EPA has taken little action to move forward on the agreement, he said.