CN started railing in construction debris....Rockwood

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OwlCaboose2853
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CN started railing in construction debris....Rockwood

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Mayor: Community will take on CN railroad

By Jackie Harrison-Martin,
The News-Herald
PUBLISHED: December 19, 2004

ROCKWOOD — Philip Smalley said he's new to his role as the city's mayor, but he's no stranger to a good fight.

Speaking about a conflict the city has with Canadian National Railroad, the mayor said he wants residents to know the city has no problem taking on the company.

CN started railing in construction debris from New Jersey to its tracks in Rockwood at the beginning of this month. The debris is transferred onto trucks and then transported to Allied Rockwood Landfill in Newport.

A company spokesman for CN said the debris would "never touch the ground" once transferred from the railcars. Yet, video footage from a police car's camera shows debris flying onto Huron River Drive as the trucks travel though a residential area east of Fort Road.

Smalley questioned why such things as auto parts are falling off the trucks if the debris was only construction material.

Complaints also have come into City Hall that the trucks are leaving the area uncovered. Police Chief Russell VanWassehnova said an officer went to the site and witnessed a truck leaving uncovered and spilling its load.

The driver was ticketed. Those tickets are about $220.

The chief said three trucks are making 10 to 20 trips a day back and forth to the landfill.

"I'm sure it will increase as they add more trucks and get more organized," VanWassehnova said.

Representatives from CN could not be reached for comment.

Van Wassehnova said the trucks are creating a traffic safety issue when turning east onto Huron River Drive because they have to swing out and cross the centerline to get on the road.

He said that if the trucks don't swing out wide, they risk knocking down a nearby telephone pole.

Smalley recently met with U.S. Sen. Debbie Stabenow (D-Mich.), state Sen. Bruce Patterson (R-Canton Twp.) and Wayne County Commissioner Edward Boike (D-Taylor) to see what can be done to halt the trucks.

"I just want to assure the residents of Rockwood we will do what is in our power to challenge this," he said. "If it can be done, it will. I'm not going to lay down and let them roll over us."

The city issued a stop- work order in early November for construction that was being done without required permits. Smalley said it has been ignored.

"They never paid it any heed at all," he said. "It's like we don't exist."

Railroad property falls under federal jurisdiction, not local control.

Smalley said railroad representatives said they would sit down with city officials, but he isn't convinced that will happen.

"It's consistent with their attitude," Smalley said. "There are several discrepancies between what they say and what they do. They say they want to sit down and talk, but we haven't met yet. "

http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/12 ... 9004.shtml[/b]

OwlCaboose2853
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N.J. piles demolition trash on Michigan

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N.J. piles demolition trash on Michigan

Rockwood vows court fight after 1,000 tons of debris begin to arrive daily.

See photo and map: http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0412/28/A01-43588.htm

ROCKWOOD -- Wayne County, already the dumping ground for all of Toronto's trash, is fast becoming the destination for New Jersey's construction waste, too.

To the ire of local and state officials, Canadian National Railway Co. this month began shipping as much as 1,000 tons of demolition debris -- broken walls, gnarled metal and the like -- 600 miles every day from the Garden State to Rockwood, a one stoplight community of 3,400 residents that hugs the border of Monroe County.

"Everyone is just disgusted," said Rockwood resident Dieter Schulz, a landlord. "It's terrible. Why is Michigan the dumping ground for everyone?"

The garbage flap began with rumors, remains stoked with mystery, but is almost certain to end in court. Along the way, the private deal could reshape Michigan's decade-long fight against out-of-state waste.

The trash trains are just the latest setback for Wayne County -- and all of Michigan -- in its efforts to curb out-of-state waste.

Federal courts struck down a county ordinance in 2004 that attempted to bar foreign waste.

In a twist that's ironic to some and cruel to others, the New Jersey junk is being unloaded just 12 miles away from Carleton Farms landfill in Sumpter Township, where Toronto ships 1 million tons of garbage a year.

The shipments have helped make Michigan the nation's No. 3 importer of trash, taking in 5.2 million tons in 2003.

"They keep trying new twists to bring more trash in here," said Wayne County Executive Robert Ficano.

"It's an unconscionable situation to put our communities in. We realize there have to be landfills, but the courts have gone far in protecting the rights of the trash versus the rights of the citizens."

Michigan lawmakers have fought out-of-state waste for more than a decade, but the battle has always favored the garbage man. The Canadian National debate could tilt it even further.

The Supreme Court has ruled the U.S. Constitution's Interstate Commerce clause allows only Congress -- not Michigan or other states -- to regulate the trash trade.

Now, Canadian National claims its special status as a railroad means it doesn't have to follow local laws. Vital to the U.S. economy, railroads have been exempt from many local regulations and zoning laws for more than 100 years.

Canadian National is ignoring an order last week from Wayne County to stop dumping the waste within its borders.

The county claims the operation violates its solid waste ordinance.

"Our position is we're in full compliance with all the federal legal requirements," said Jim Kvedaras, spokesman for the Montreal-based company.

Wayne County may soon ask a federal judge to halt the operation, which uses cranes to unload trash from trains into 15 to 20 semi trucks in Rockwood.

The 50-ton trucks then haul the trash about 10 miles away to the Allied Waste-Rockwood landfill, which is just over the Monroe County border in Berlin Township.

Rockwood officials are preparing their own lawsuit, while state Attorney General Mike Cox's staff is examining the legality of the trash transfer station.

Ficano said he worries that more trash could enter the state by rail if Canadian National prevails in Rockwood.

"All this imported waste is just ridiculous," said Don MacGregor, a 43-year resident and retired principal of Wegienka Elementary in neighboring Brownstown Township.

"It seems like they can just buy their way into anything."

Neither Rockwood officials nor neighbors in half-million dollar homes springing up in the rural community had any clue the operation was coming.

Rockwood officials first saw workers building something in October. At the time, Canadian National officials claimed they were making improvements to a railway spur once used to load sand from nearby mines that was used to make car windows, said Mayor Philip Smalley.

When the truth emerged, Rockwood officials had to open two extra rooms to accommodate an overflow crowd at City Hall.

The special meeting -- convened Oct. 29, a Friday night -- drew more than 125 residents, a record for any issue in the city.

"People were enraged, as you'd expect anyone to be when a railroad would have the audacity to come into a residential area without telling anyone anything," Smalley said.

"Here we are getting dumped on by a company that's indifferent at best. It's like we don't even exist to them."

Kvedaras wouldn't disclose terms of Canadian National's contract or reveal the exact source of the trash, except to say it doesn't come from the remains of the World Trade Center or contain hazardous materials. He described it as the leftover building debris such as drywall and wooden timbers.

"We have a contract in place," Kvedaras said. "We're trying to fulfill that contract. We are in the business of trying to increase the amount of materials we move."

Rockwood Police Chief Russ Vanwassehnova, whose officers regularly monitor the trucks, said items such as refrigerators have already been spotted on the trucks.

The trash arrives on trains that, according to police videos, are covered only with a thin layer of chicken wire.

Trucks have spilled bricks and other garbage along the heavily traveled Huron River Drive, said Schulz, who is lobbying officials to lower the speed limit to 25 mph from 45 mph.

County officials have met twice with Canadian National and warned that the operation is unlicensed and violates at least seven county ordinances.

"We're cooperating and are forthright in sharing the details of our operations with both Rockwood and the county," Kvedaras said.

Nationally, legislation that would curb imported waste has remained perpetually stalled.

Statewide, Michigan legislators approved laws earlier this year that impose a two-year moratorium on new landfills, require quarterly inspections of existing ones and ban items such as returnable cans and tires from dumps.

The laws took effect Oct. 1 and were intended to deter states with less-stringent environmental standards from shipping trash to Michigan, but environmental regulators last week told The Detroit News they're using the honor system to enforce the laws and have yet to cite a single scofflaw.

The waste industry is challenging the laws in federal court.

In a related development, an Ontario report this month claimed Toronto is falling well short of its goal to recycle all of its trash by 2010 -- meaning the city may have to rely on Michigan for years to come.

Smalley has been mayor of Rockwood less than two months. During that time, he's learned quickly that fights against waste haulers rarely end well for cities in Michigan.

"It's like David versus Goliath. Here we are, the smallest community in Wayne County," he said.

"I'm not going to let them roll over us without a fight. Sometimes, the underdog is victorious."

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Railroad piles lawsuit on Wayne Co., Rockwood

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Railroad piles lawsuit on Wayne Co., Rockwood

The railway that hauls trash from N.J. seeks exemption from environmental code.

Rockwood Police Officer Patricia Kecskes talks to a Berner Trucks driver in an area where trucks haul in imported trash.
See photo: http://www.detnews.com/2004/metro/0412/29/C01-44712.htm

By Joel Kurth / The Detroit News

Canadian National Railway Co. is suing Wayne County and Rockwood in federal court, claiming both governments are interfering with its right to ship New Jersey's construction debris into the state.

Rockwood officials were served with the suit Tuesday, the same day The Detroit News detailed how the Montreal-based railroad is bringing some 1,000 tons a day of construction waste from New Jersey into the Downriver city.

The city and county are preparing to seek injunctions against the operation, which unloads trash from train cars onto 15 to 20 trucks, which haul the waste to the Allied Waste-Rockwood landfill just over the border in Monroe County.

Unbeknownst to county and city officials, however, the railway filed suit in U.S. District Court in Detroit on Nov. 16, two weeks before the shipments even began and amid talks between government and railway officials about the trash.

In its suit, Canadian National claims the county and city violated the U.S. Constitution by issuing orders to stop building the trash-transfer station. The suit doesn't specify monetary damages, but seeks an injunction barring the county and city from enforcing environmental regulations on the facility.

"This is par for the course," Rockwood Mayor Phillip Smalley said. "With one hand, they pat you on the back and say they want to be your friend. With the other, they file a lawsuit."

The flap comes amid continued controversy over imported trash. Michigan ranks third in the nation in out-of-state trash, taking in 5.2 million tons in 2003.

At issue in Rockwood is whether Wayne County's environmental laws can apply to a railroad. Railroads have long enjoyed special status exempting them from local zoning ordinances.

Howard Gurwin, a lawyer for Canadian National, deferred comment to spokesman Jim Kvedaras. He couldn't be reached for further comment, but last week said, "we are operating the facility under all federal and legal requirements."

Wayne County has a right to protect its citizens from trash, said Kurt Heise, county environmental chief.

"To do nothing means we could end up with more trains of trash coming into Michigan at any point in the border, which only compounds the imported-waste crisis," he said.

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patrick
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Construction material

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I think this sucks. And for this material to be flying off the trucks like it is , is a bad thing. The material coming from newjersey is the debris from the twin towers world trade center...which was loaded with abspestos and such. Does not make a pretty picture in my mind.if their going to bring it to michigan, atleast put it in covered containers so all that is to be done is to off load the container to the truck...

OwlCaboose2853
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CN Railroad files federal lawsuit in waste debate

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CN Railroad files federal lawsuit in waste debate


By Adam Sparkes
, The News-Herald

ROCKWOOD — "Maintaining environmental standards has always been our main concern," said Mayor Phillip Smalley about the stop-work order the city issued recently against Canadian National Railroad.
But the order — which targets unapproved work on the CN Transload Facility — as well as Wayne County's request that CN obtains a soil erosion permit, has resulted in a federal lawsuit.

Tuesday morning, Rockwood officials received word they were being sued by the railroad company.

CN began shipping construction waste from New Jersey this fall. The waste is being unloaded and put into trucks at its transload station on Huron River Drive just west of Streicher Road.

The trucks then take the waste to Allied-Waste Rockwood Landfill in Newport.

CN's suit contends the Interstate Commerce Commission Termination Act of 1996 gives the Federal Surface Transportation Board exclusive jurisdiction over its actions. According to the suit, STB solely regulates transportation by rail common carriers and the facilities used by such carriers in providing rail transportation service, including transload facilities.

"Unless enjoined by the court, the city's efforts to enforce state and local permitting … will cause irreparable injury to GTW and CN," the suit stated.

Smalley said the company's action only affirms his suspicions that CN cares about nothing but turning a profit.

"(Waste) from the trucks is being dropped on the ground," he said. "We don't even know where it came from or what it is," he said.

"How can we trust them? They just don't have a good track record of giving us information," Smalley said.

Officials from Rockwood and Wayne County have been concerned about what type of waste the trucks are carrying. CN has replied by assuring that it is merely construction waste with no hazardous materials.

Smalley said he has had no way to confirm the source or contents of the waste.

Rockwood police have obtained video of trucks carrying roll-off boxes filled with waste from CN's loading center. In some of the videos, waste is seen being scattered onto the roads from the back of the trucks.

Smalley had said previously that he will not take this issue lying down, and that the residents of Rockwood could rest assured that he would take any action available.

The truck traffic and the debris falling from them has been the source of various complaints to police.

Click here to return to story:
http://www.thenewsherald.com/stories/01 ... 2003.shtml

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patrick
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new thoughts

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I recently found out that the stuff coming in by rail is the mess left over from the 9-11 attacks. There are auto parts in it because there were many cars destroyed in the attacks when the towers fell.

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