Bill facing scrutiny
Saturday, October 08, 2005
ERIN ALBERTY
THE SAGINAW NEWS

Saginaw County is taking another look at state legislation that would keep regulators from deeming a property along the Tittabawassee River as a contaminated "facility" without doing the testing to prove it.

The county's Legislative Subcommittee will hear comments on what sponsors call the Homeowner Fairness Act at 3 p.m. Tuesday in the Saginaw County Governmental Center, 111 S. Michigan.

Last month, the subcommittee recommended the county endorse the bill, which would prevent the state from declaring hundreds of properties as a facility without confirming through sampling that contamination levels really are above the state health standard.

County leaders asked the subcommittee to review the endorsement in order to allow more public participation. Proponents of the bill say it would help homeowners along the Tittabawassee River whose property now is part of a contaminated facility designation, which the state based on dioxin tests taken on other properties nearby.

The designation, they said, hurts property values without knowing whether the site actually is contaminated.

Opponents say the bill, which has passed the House, would slow the cleanup of dioxin -- and make it more costly.

"They need to look at the implications beyond property values," said Michelle Hurd-Riddick, spokeswoman for the Lone Tree Council, a Bay City-based environmental watchdog group. v

Erin Alberty is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. Call her at 776-9673.
 

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