Granholm vetoes facility proposal

Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News 12/28/2005

The bill deemed either the "Homeowner Fairness Act" or "Polluters' Protection Act," depending on which side of the issue residents chose, is dead -- vetoed by Gov. Jennifer Granholm Tuesday.

Granholm said in a message accompanying her veto that the bill introduced by Rep. John Moolenaar in April and supported by Midland area municipalities and businesses would hinder the state's ability to respond to public health and environmental issues, would increase costs and slow the pace of contamination cleanup, and would create inappropriate opportunities for polluters to delay and avoid responsibilities.

Granholm said the bill, passed with bipartisan support, was poorly crafted and contained errors that were ignored during the legislative process.

"Michigan homeowners deserve protections for their investments, but changes in Michigan law that threaten the protection of public health and the environment under the guise of homeowner fairness are not acceptable," Granholm told lawmakers in her letter.

She advised the DEQ and lawmakers to get to work on something better -- something that would address all concerns.

Under the legislation, the DEQ could have marked land for cleanup without testing individual parcels -- but only if the property owner agreed in writing. Dow could also contest designations by conducting its own tests.

Moolenaar introduced the bill after the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality alerted 2,000 residents along Tittabawassee River that their land likely was contaminated with dioxin, based on several rounds of testing along the flood plain. The City of Midland also was told that large areas of the city likely hosted contamination as a result of airborne particles that once spewed from Dow's Midland plant and settled in soil.

As Dow works to comply with its renewed operating license, it must address the historical contamination issues on and off its Midland site.

DEQ officials say they understand propertyowners' concerns and agree that the department's initial correspondence with residents was not well-worded. It since has clarified state law relating to contamination and narrowed the scope and number of properties it considers contaminated.

But some residents say Granholm's veto shows that there is a lack of oversight for the DEQ.

"Jennifer Granholm is trying to highjack and destroy property rights and science-based public policy," said Leonard Heinzman, a Tittabawassee River resident and member of grassroots property owner group Tittabawassee River Voice. "Homeowners are the key stakeholders on this complicated environmental issue. Granholm completely dismisses their rights and concerns, and in doing so, allows MDEQ to be accountable to no one," he said.

But the DEQ, along with concerned residents against passage of the bill, say that Granholm's signature would have serious implications for the state's cleanup program, and would put property owners, the public and environmental health at risk.

"We all share a commitment to growing Michigan's economy, but we cannot do that at the expense of our environment or the health of our citizens," said DEQ Director Steven Chester.

Chester said the DEQ has worked to be responsive to the concerns of area citizens, and also offered lawmakers alternative language for the bill. The alternative language, he said, was ignored.

Moolenaar does not disagree, saying that the alternative language was unacceptable, and still gave ultimate power to the DEQ.

Sen. Tony Stamas agrees. "At the end of the day, it had an out, he said. It left it up to DEQ discretion."

While Moolenaar does not expect another attempt to work with the DEQ will be successful, Stamas said an effort must be made. "We still have to keep pushing the issue," Stamas said. "The issue is too important. We need to keep pushing whenever we can."

Chester said he will work with lawmakers, as Granholm suggests. "I look forward to continuing our efforts to resolve any disagreements or misunderstandings about how the state's cleanup program works," Chester said. "I am confident that we can all arrive at a solution that truly protects homeowners, and protects our environment."

©Midland Daily News 2005

Reader Opinions:

Fred Stoll Dec, 28 2005 One side wants the state to have authority and power over polluted areas and the other side wants to water down the power and authority of the state and give it to the polluter.

I would like to ask the anti-veto group - would you use this same logic for our prison system, give the prisoners authority over the state Department of Corrections?

Because that is exactly what you want to do with our natural resources, you want to give polluters more power over the Michigan DEQ, thus in the end giving the polluters authority over the very land they have contaminated.
 

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