Tuesday, May 11, 2004
JEREMIAH STETTLERTHE SAGINAW NEWS
Leonard Heinzman won't sit idle while his neighborhood gets a black eye.
He said the state Department of Environmental Quality and local environmentalists have raised a false alarm over the industrial contaminant dioxin and smeared the reputation of Tittabawassee River neighborhoods.
Now he's striking back.
Heinzman, 57, said residents plan to form a citizen's committee this month to counter contamination claims and urge state regulators to remove the "hazardous waste facility" designation from the Tittabawassee River.
"We can't just sit around and do nothing," the Freeland man said.
The DEQ declared the Tittabawassee River a "facility" in February 2002, citing dioxin levels above the state action level of 90 parts per trillion. The label requires property owners to disclose that their properties are tainted by the toxin.
Heinzman said the designation is unfair, particularly because the state limit is more than 10 times lower than the federal action level of 1,000 parts per trillion. He and other property owners want the designation changed or a tax break because of the potential loss in property values.
"We didn't cause the pollution, but we are being made to pay because of a crusade against Dow Chemical Co.," Heinzman said. "If they are going to do this, then people included in the facility should become tax exempt."
Heinzman isn't alone. He and about 25 riverside residents met at his home in April to speak with state lawmakers and discuss options for a citizen's committee.
State Sen. Michael J. Goschka, a Brant Republican, said residents raised a valid point about a tax reduction, which he plans to entertain at the state level.
"It is a fair question that deserves an honest answer," Goschka said, noting that he still awaits a reply on the legality of a tax break.
However, Goschka could not say how much legislative authority he has to lift the "facility" designation from the river. Though once believing he had none, the senator said discussions with other officials have led him to believe that options for legislative intervention are available.
State Rep. Jim Howell, a St. Charles Republican, favors removing the label.
"I'm looking for a resolution on the dioxin issue," he said. "But I'm not sure that labeling (the Tittabawassee River) as a hazardous waste facility is particularly helpful. It's not how we label things that matters, it is how we clean them up."
State regulators say the "facility" designation is based on sound science. Though the state standard of 90 parts per trillion is comparatively low to the federal standard, they say it is needed to protect human health.
Steven E. Chester, director of the DEQ, said the federal standard of 1,000 parts per trillion "was never intended to represent a concentration in soil that is acceptable for long-term residential exposure without any further type of evaluation."
Even dioxin levels below the federal standard are high enough to pose a health concern, Chester said.
Heinzman intends to fight the standard and the resulting "facility" designation attached to riverside properties. He will lead the committee along with Freeland resident Shirley Salas.
Residents have posted a Web site -- www.tittabawassee.blog spot.com -- that challenges claims about dioxin and urges similar thinkers to contact their state representatives. They also plan to post an online petition to show how many people share their views. t
Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9685.
© 2004 Saginaw News.
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse River Watch web site www.trwnews.net for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga. . The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The source organization's web site link is listed to the right of the article, visit often for other news in our area. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.