Nearly 22,000 Detroit residents live within a 1.5-mile radius of a solid waste incinerator that’s spewing carbon monoxide and other hazardous air pollutants from its smokestack.
On Jan. 29, National Environmental Law Center attorneys, acting on behalf of Environment Michigan and The Ecology Center, filed a formal notice of Clean Air Act violations to Detroit Renewable Power and its corporate affiliate. Our notice alleges the incinerator owned and operated by the companies has violated emission limits for carbon monoxide more than 600 times over the past five years.
“This incinerator has blighted the surrounding neighborhoods for decades with noxious odors and harmful air pollutants,” said Nathan Murphy, Environment Michigan state director, “Thirteen schools operate within that radius, with one playground just 1,300 feet away. We are preparing to do everything we can to hold this persistent polluter accountable and protect clean air.”
Photo: The incinerator in Detroit. Credit: Aaron Petcoff via Flickr, CC BY-NC-SA 2.0.
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