Thursday, December 23, 2004
SCOTT DAVISTHE SAGINAW NEWS
Dock owners have a Plan B if rising concern about dioxin delays a plan to dredge the Saginaw River this summer.
They say they'll dredge it themselves.
William G. Webber, owner of Sargent Docks & Terminal Inc. in Zilwaukee, said Saginaw River businesses can't wait until 2006 or longer for dredging because silt levels are making it impossible for ships to travel the waterway.
"If it comes down to it, we're prepared to spend 100 percent of our money, because we have no choice," said Webber, who heads the Saginaw River Alliance, a group of 20 dock-related companies that depend on the river in Saginaw and Bay counties.
"We're going to do everything we can to keep the river open."
Webber's comments come shortly after the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency weighed in on a proposed plan by Saginaw County and the U.S. Army of Corps of Engineers to dredge the river this summer.
EPA officials said in a letter to the corps that it should more adequately resolve concerns about high dioxin levels in the river spoils before moving forward with dredging.
The new concerns could delay the 3-year-old project by a year or more. The corps has proposed a $5.5 million dredging effort to scoop up more than 3 million cubic yards of sediment from the river bottom, and it now is trying to obtain state and federal permits to place the dioxin-contaminated spoils in a 281-acre field in Zilwaukee Township.
Webber said the alliance is not contemplating a full dredging but a strategy that likely would focus on the river's Sixth Street turning basin, where southbound ships reverse course for the return to Saginaw Bay.
He estimated the cost at less than $500,000.
Increasingly, Webber said, ships are having difficulty turning in the basin, making it less feasible to carry goods up the river to Saginaw. He said rising silt levels in the basin may block all shipping next year.
Even though dock businesses are desperate to dredge the river -- even at their own expense -- Webber acknowledged it may prove difficult to obtain a federal permit for a new, privately operated spoils site.
"We're just tossing out ideas," Webber said. "This may not even be possible. If it comes to closing the river, we'll have to do whatever we can. Maybe we'll go out there with shovels."
Tonya Harrington, a regional economist with the Corps of Engineers in Detroit -- which approves dredging permits -- said it likely would take many months to authorize a private dredging project, noting the dioxin levels already discovered in the Saginaw River.
But she said state and federal lawmakers may succeed in placing a small private dredging endeavor on a fast-track approval process.
"The federal project process is usually pretty slow, but the Saginaw project seems to have (political) backing, which is important," Harrington said.
Saginaw County Public Works Commissioner James A. Koski, a strong proponent of dredging, said the most difficult component of a private approach is securing a site to dump the spoils.
Concerns from environmentalists and residents have nixed other proposed spoils sites.
"The trouble is, where do you put it?" Koski said. "No matter where you put it, you're going to run into the same arguments."
Webber contends the silt in the Sixth Street turning basin is mostly sand and has fairly low dioxin levels. He said dock companies quickly could find a suitable disposal site, possibly on one of the companies' sites.
Webber said the dock companies likely would pay for the private dredging with a self-assessment they planned to begin paying this spring -- 10 cents per ton shipped.
Companies planned to pay the money -- about $334,000 -- as their share of the federal dredging.
Whatever occurs, Webber said, must happen soon.
"We want to strike a balance between the economy and the environment," Webber said. "We have to keep this river open." v
Scott Davis is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9665.
© 2004 Saginaw News.
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