Tuesday, December 28, 2004
JEREMIAH STETTLER THE SAGINAW NEWS
Environmentalists are warning state officials not to compromise their standards for Dow Chemical Co.
In a statement issued by eight environmental groups Monday, activists urged the state Department of Environmental Quality and Lt. Gov. John Cherry not to relax their dioxin cleanup requirements for Dow.
"We want to see a cleanup plan that is consistent with state law and doesn't grant an exception for Dow Chemical Co.," said David Holtz, state director of Clean Water Action, a national advocacy group.
"If an exception is granted for Dow, what is to prevent any other company from asking for an exception anywhere else? It is not a good precedent to set."
State and Dow officials are entering their seventh month of negotiations over how to proceed with dioxin cleanup along the Tittabawassee River. Officials repeatedly have refused to discuss the substance of those talks.
DEQ spokesman Robert McCann anticipates a public announcement in January -- more than two months after the department's original Oct. 31 deadline.
"We want to do this sooner rather than later," he said.
McCann said his department will not enter into any agreement that compromises public health or the environment.
Environmental groups submitted a seven-prong standard to state leaders Monday that they intend to use to judge the agreement. The test calls for a comprehensive, expedited cleanup plan that sticks with the state dioxin standard of 90 parts per trillion.
The group -- consisting of the Bay City-based Lone Tree Council, Michigan Environmental Council, Sierra Club, Ecology Center, Clean Water Action, Tittabawassee River Watch, Citizens Against Toxic Chemicals and Environmental Health Watch -- said they will ask the following:
Will cleanup result in rivers that are safe for drinking and recreation?
Will the public have a role in making sure that cleanup is comprehensive?
Will cleanup begin immediately, particularly in areas of greatest contamination?
Will the state stick to the 90 parts per trillion standard? If not, why?
Will the plan ensure that soils and sediments are disposed of in a way that keeps them contained, even during major flooding?
Is cleanup legally enforceable? What will happen if Dow or the state fails to comply with the agreement?
Will cleanup protect economic growth, public enjoyment and sustained development along the riverfront in perpetuity?
Bill Egerer, founder of a citizens coalition known as Midland Matters, said the statement echoes positions that environmentalists have held all along. He said the proposed guidelines are heavy on cleanup and light on science.
"Their focus is on cleanup, cleanup and cleanup," he said. "That is pretty typical of the things they have expounded on before. While they say there could be compromises to the environment, I'm concerned that there could be compromises on the scientific end."
State officials continue their negotiations with Dow. They say no agreement will come until they subject their plans to public scrutiny. v
Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer at 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.