(AP) — Dow Chemical Co. has made a proposal to federal authorities who complain the manufacturer is dragging its feet on dealing with dioxins and other contaminants in waterways downstream from its Midland plant.

The company said it submitted a "good faith offer" Monday, the deadline set in October by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. EPA is pressing the chemical giant to move faster on cleanup of a 50-mile watershed extending from the plant to Lake Huron's Saginaw Bay.

Dow officials say they have made significant progress this year, finishing work on three toxic "hot spots" along the Tittabawassee River. The company has begun an emergency cleanup of a recently discovered site in the Saginaw River containing what EPA describes as the highest dioxin concentration ever found in the Great Lakes region.

Still, Dow has yet to start a long-awaited cleansing of the broader area. The company acknowledges its 1,900-acre plant for decades polluted the watershed with dioxins and furans — chemical byproducts that may cause cancer and damage reproductive and immune systems.

EPA in October gave Dow two months to come up with a plan that would demonstrate its willingness to design and pay for a comprehensive solution.

In a statement, Dow said its offer includes studying the problem and possible remedies, selecting cleanup methods and taking interim steps as directed by EPA before carrying out the final project.

The company said it had agreed with EPA and the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality to keep further details confidential.

"Dow is doing everything it can to be aggressive and get things done in as short a time frame as possible," spokesman John Musser said.

The plan deals with all the affected areas except the plant itself and sites within the city of Midland, he said, adding that it's too early to say how much it will cost.

EPA spokesman Mick Hans said the agency was studying the Dow proposal. "We will have more to say when we have finished reviewing it," he said.

Saginaw resident Michelle Hurd Riddick, a member of an environmental group called the Lone Tree Council, said the confidentiality agreement continued a pattern of shutting the public out of negotiations over the Dow cleanup.

"The public owns these resources, and we're entitled to know the people in these agencies arrive at decisions that affect our resources," Riddick said.

Michigan's DEQ has been involved in talks between with the company and federal agency. But spokesman Robert McCann said Dow's latest proposal was prepared specifically for EPA.

The case has generated some tension between EPA and state officials.

The DEQ issued Dow a hazardous waste operating license in 2003 and took over for EPA as the primary overseer of day-to-day cleanup activities, McCann said Tuesday.

But last June, the EPA said things were moving too slowly under state oversight. It ordered immediate removal of tainted sediments and floodplain soils from the three highly contaminated spots on the Tittabawassee River, plus site restoration.

McCann said work had already started by then. Thousands of soil samples had been taken, he said. Company and DEQ officials had negotiated a plan for cleansing the hot spots.

"On a cleanup of this magnitude, there are very few easy answers we can come up with and even fewer short cuts we can take," McCann said.

Riddick credited the DEQ with prodding Dow to take about 10,000 soil and sediment samples over the past couple of years, which she said were responsible for recent progress. EPA should order the company to make extensive sampling a centerpiece of its new plan, she said.

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On the Net:

_U.S. Environmental Protection Agency: http://www.epa.gov

_Dow Chemical Co.: http://www.dow.com

_Michigan Department of Environmental Quality: http://www.michigan.gov/deq

Copyright 2007 Associated Press. All rights reserved.

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