(MICHIGAN) Even as they try to oversee the flow of waste from Canada, Michigan regulators are trying to figure out how to oversee the process of rail-hauled waste from the East Coast. A plan to bring waste by train to Genesee County in north Flint would be a first in Michigan.

County commissioners, state legislators, and Department of Environmental Quality officials have begun meeting with Transflo, a CSX subsidiary. Transflo has said it will start moving trash in sealed containers from trains to trucks in Flint as soon as new equipment is brought in to handle the job.

However, state officials pointed out that just because they cannot block the shipments does not mean the operation will be unregulated. The volume of out-of-state garbage delivered by truck rose sharply, more than 100 percent, in the most recent fiscal year in Genesee County, most of it originating in Canada.

State officials noted that containers used to hold the garbage must be properly washed and any leftover liquid will have to be treated as industrial liquid waste. Also, sealed garbage containers cannot be left overnight at the transfer station either.

Neither Transflo nor CSX officials have pinpointed a start-up date for the train shipments, and CSX has said the business might not happen at all if the plan costs too much. Company officials have said they are working to generate enough customers to make it feasible.

State officials said they are still not sure expense in transporting trash so far a distance will make economic sense, even if the state generally and the county specifically have cheap landfill rates.

For more information, contact the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality, (800) 662-9278, www.michigan.gov/deq.