LANDFILL LAWSUIT
The Canadian National Railway Co., Montreal, has filed lawsuits against Wayne County, Mich., and Rockwood, Mich., in federal court, claiming the governments of both communities are interfering with its right to ship C&D debris from New Jersey into their landfills, the Detroit News reports.
The city and county are preparing to seek injunctions against the railroad, which has been hauling nearly 1,000 tons of New Jersey’s C&D debris to the Allied Waste-Rockwood landfill.
The Detroit News reports that the railway’s suit alleges the communities violated the U.S. Constitution when issuing orders to stop building the transfer station in November 2004.
The suit does not specify monetary damages, but seeks an injunction barring the local governments from enforcing environmental regulations on the facility.
This conflict is the latest development in an ongoing battle over cross-border waste shipments. Michigan is the third largest trash importer in the U.S., according to the report, taking in 5.2 million tons last year alone.
RED TAPE TIES UP CALIFORNIA ROAD MATERIALS RECYCLING PLAN
The California Department of Conservation has rejected a recycling plan proposed by Granite Construction, Watsonville, Calif., because the plan conflicts with the state’s Williamson Act agricultural tax break program, according to a report in the Lompoc Record (Lompoc, Calif.).
Granite had planned to crush and recycle used road materials at its Buellton, Calif., plant to generate asphalt for repairs to roads damaged in the recent winter storms.
But because the facility sits on land enrolled in the Williamson Act, recycling road materials there is not allowed.
The Lompoc Record reports that Granite receives no tax breaks on the land, because it is not in active agricultural use, though it is subject to the act’s restrictions. Granite moved to remove the land from the Williamson Act contract in 1997, but the process takes a decade to complete.
Explore the February 2005 Issue
Check out more from this issue and find your next story to read.
Latest from Recycling Today
- Summa Equity acquires majority stake of Bollegraaf
- PTR adds new inside sales account manager
- Cascade Engineering distributes free carts in Flint, Michigan
- CMRA selects venue for nonferrous recycling event
- Biffa adds C&D recycling firm to its portfolio
- Cliffs lines up funding for Canadian acquisition
- BIR joins plastics life cycle effort
- Black mass analysis in the sights of equipment maker
