Hazardous Waste & Injection Well Accountability Package

This two-bill package introduces long-overdue safeguards to Michigan’s hazardous and radioactive waste oversight. It requires the Department of Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE) to develop and regularly update a statewide waste management plan that limits overcapacity, pauses new permits until planning is complete, and bans disposal of radioactive TENORM waste. It also ensures that injection well operators secure financial assurance for site reclamation, protecting taxpayers from future cleanup costs. 

The second bill holds companies accountable by requiring Class I commercial hazardous waste well operators to pay per-ton or per-gallon fees on disposed waste. Those funds would be directed into a Disposal Well Host Community Fund, which EGLE would use to provide grants to impacted local governments—ensuring communities are compensated for hosting high-risk infrastructure and helping promote local health and safety.