EPA: Hurry on dioxin

THE SAGINAW NEWS

Speed up the cleanup, regulators say.

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency told Dow Chemical Co. to hasten plans to scour three dioxin hot spots along the Tittabawassee River, giving the Midland-based company until Wednesday, Aug. 15, to begin.

Dow had planned to remediate the toxic blemishes by the end of the year. EPA officials apparently decided that schedule was too leisurely.

"We're surprised by this," said Dow spokesman John C. Musser. "The EPA's action is surprising because we've been working very closely with (the state Department of Environmental Quality) to get this done."

Dow promised to take corrective action in 2003, but progress "has taken too long," the federal agency alleged. "EPA has documented that dioxin contamination in soil poses risks to human health and the environment."

Musser said Dow officials received a press release Wednesday but didn't expect to see the formal papers until today. The release indicates Dow must submit a remediation plan by Friday, July 13.

"We will respond in the time permitted," Musser said. "We are going to comply with whatever they ask."

Before the announcement, the EPA had delegated all oversight of Dow clean-up action to the DEQ.

The agency's sudden initiative surprised DEQ spokesman Robert McCann, even though he described the line of communication between the two regulatory agencies as "strong."

"Apparently, they've gotten to the point where they think they need to speed this up," McCann said. "We understand the EPA's concern because we want to move this process forward, too."

Dioxin is linked to some forms of cancer, reproductive problems and weakened immune systems in laboratory animals. However, the World Health Organization says dioxins are not considered as toxic as once thought.

The job

In November, workers with Dow-hired Ann Arbor Technical Services discovered the three spots within a six-mile stretch of the Tittabawassee River between Midland's Tridge and Imerman Park in Saginaw Township.

Crews measured the toxins in one place at 87,000 parts per trillion. They found it on Dow property, from a spot slightly more than a mile south of Smith's Crossing, in soil 6 inches to 1 foot beneath the riverbed.

Michigan's residential contact limit for dioxin in soil is 90 parts per trillion. The state average is 7 parts per trillion.

Project Manager Peter Simon said the depth where workers found another sample -- measuring 69,000 parts per trillion -- indicates contamination likely occurred nearly a century ago.

Musser said Dow officials planned to dredge both finds.

A third hot spot, measuring about 84,000 parts per trillion, is in a riverbank near the middle of the six-mile area. Workers discovered the contamination between a half-foot and 4 feet underground. Dow later found the sample covered such a small area that officials contemplated leaving it alone, Musser said.

The EPA's demand apparently requires the company to clean that site, as well.

Workers were to begin dredging this summer, concluding a large portion of the work before the winter. A small portion might have remained for remediation next year, Musser said.

He said crews might have started sooner but acquiring various state permits took time. Dow collected all the required paperwork within the last few days, he said.

"We're essentially looking at a situation where, even though we've been working cooperatively with the (DEQ), we're being given an order to override what we've already agreed to do," he said.

Reaction

Republican state Reps. John Moolenaar and Kenneth B. Horn applauded the EPA's move.

"The time is right to solve this problem," said Horn, whose district includes part of the Tittabawassee River watershed.

The DEQ has worked closely with Dow but has had a hard time finding closure, the Frankenmuth resident said.

"We need some swift action to put our residents' minds at ease," he said.

Moolenaar, of Midland, said "there was consensus that the hot spots be the top priority, and there was a general agreement that we wanted to move as quickly as possible.

"My understanding is that Dow has been agreeable to work on those priority areas from the start. It's a common-sense step forward."

Bay City-based Lone Tree Council President Terry Miller said the EPA's decision confirmed his suspicions that Dow was "dragging their feet" in the clean-up efforts.

"There's been a lot of print suggesting the state has been too hard on the company when it appeared that Dow was being too slow," he said. "The federal government would seem to support that contention."

The EPA's move appears positive, said Saginaw Township Supervisor Tim Braun -- as long as it doesn't dilute or fragment a final resolution.

With the DEQ and Dow expected to one day reach a remediation agreement, it raises the question of who will bring the parties together to reach a deal, he said.

"It makes you wonder, is someone in charge?" he asked. v

Justin Engel and Barrie Barber are staff writers. You may reach Engel at 776-9691 and Barber at 776-9725.