Detroit could be burning its trash until 2020.
http://www.detnews.com/article/20090...or-incinerator
Quote:
Originally Posted by The Detroit News
The majority owner of the Detroit incinerator will force the city to continue sending its trash to the facility for at least another year -- a situation that is causing a rift between the City Council and Mayor Dave Bing.
Energy Investors Fund of Boston notified the city in a letter earlier this month of its desire to keep accepting waste from Detroit. The letter extends the agreement with the city through the end of June 2010.
Many city residents and lawmakers have fought for years to end Detroit's policy of burning its residential garbage at the incinerator, where the waste is converted into energy that can be sold. Critics said emissions from the facility contribute to health problems such as asthma in the neighborhoods around the plant.
But contracts between EIF and the Greater Detroit Resource Recovery Authority, Detroit's waste handling body, put most of the decision-making power in the hands of the private energy company.
"We're bound by those contracts," said Jeff Prymack, the authority's director. "I've told city officials many times in meetings that they're opening themselves to a $30 million to $200 million lawsuit if they [[don't comply). I don't think anyone wants that kind of exposure."
Contracts between the city and EIF leave open the possibility that Detroit could be burning its trash at the incinerator until at least 2020.
Last week, however, the City Council discussed the possibility of seeking a court injunction to halt the flow of garbage to the incinerator, near the I-75/I-94 interchange.
The council passed a resolution June 30 instructing city staff to begin seeking an injunction. Almost immediately, Bing vetoed the measure, a step some council members aren't sure he has the authority to take.
Councilwoman JoAnn Watson, a strong opponent of incineration, could not be reached for comment Friday. Watson and others have pushed for the city to recycle its waste and send the remainder to area landfills as most other large cities do. Detroit has started a pilot recycling program in select sections of the city this summer.
"The mayor is committed to moving toward a greener and environmentally responsible Detroit," said spokesman Edward Cardenas in a released statement. "However, City Council agreed to a contract in 1991 that legally requires the city to send its trash to the facility."
Many of those who have fought the incinerator project for years were not surprised by Bing's stance, but some are taking a different approach.
Brad van Guilder, a community organizer with the Ecology Center, said he and others have discussed a citizen lawsuit against the city of Detroit over its handling of the incinerator over the years.
That stinks!
