Michigan Governor Gretchen Whitmer was trying to pull a fast one over on her constituents, but she got caught.
Whitmer made a very quiet deal to have toxic waste from the Manhattan project transferred from New York to a waste disposal facility in Michigan.
However, when environmental groups and residents got wind of it, they filed suit to block the deal.
Don’t Bring That Garbage Here
The waste being transferred was from the development of the atomic bomb during World War II, from the Manhattan Project.
It was tagged to be transferred from upstate New York to Van Buren Township’s Wayne Disposal in Wayne County, MI.
When local officials heard about the transfer, they immediately pushed back.
Supervisor Anne Marie Graham-Hudak was among those pushing back on the transfer of the toxic waste, stating, “The people in New York got details about what was happening, even the roads (they) were going to use leaving town.
“We got nothing, and they basically said, ‘We aren’t required to tell you anything.’ That’s sad in so many ways.”
Brandon Grysko, one of the attorneys for the plaintiffs in the case, added, “(Residents) have a right to be secure, to be safe.
“Fire departments have an obligation to provide that.
“The manner in which this has all come about has essentially jeopardized the right of the people to be safe and the right of the communities to provide that level of safety.”
T.R. Wentworth II, manager of EGLE’s Radiological Protection Section, responded to the outrage, stating, “The state doesn’t have any concerns for this material from a health and safety standpoint.”
This could be safe, but with all the problems that Michigan has had on the clean water front, do your really want to bring toxic waste into the picture?
This just does not seem like the smartest thing for Whitmer to do, and a local judge agreed, putting the transfer on hold, at least for the time being.
Probably not the smartest thing to have hit the news cycle right before a major election.
