Thursday, March 17, 2005
JEREMIAH STETTLER THE SAGINAW NEWS
The state Department of Environmental Quality is turning to the public for ideas on how to best clean up dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers -- the invitation-only public, that is.
State officials will launch the first of four public meetings today to discuss an agreement reached between Dow Chemical Co. and the DEQ on how to rid the river system of an industrial contaminant known as dioxin.
The meeting is slated for
7 p.m. at the Horizons Conference Center, 6200 State in Saginaw Township.
The DEQ/Dow agreement calls for immediate action on the most exposed properties in Saginaw and Midland counties, but establishes no concrete timeline or path for comprehensive cleanup.
That's where the public comes in, said DEQ spokesman Robert McCann. As promised during seven months of closed-door negotiations between Dow and the DEQ, the state is soliciting public input on how to proceed with cleanup.
The meetings, however, are by invitation.
McCann said the doors will remain open to the public, but the state only will take comments and questions from the 30-plus stakeholders. Other attendees will submit their comments in writing.
"We made a promise to these stakeholders that we would bring them back to the table to get feedback on how to move forward," McCann said.
He said the state will not leave the rest of the public out of the loop, promising meetings for the uninvited public later in the process. v
© 2005 Saginaw News
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee 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.