Committee IDs advisory board members at the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River & Bay Superfund Site
 by Midland Daily News Published: Friday, November 13, 2009 12:04 PM EST

Alexandria, Virginia--Six local leaders worked together to select members of a new Superfund community advisory group (CAG) for the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency dioxin cleanup activities on the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River, and Saginaw Bay.

A Superfund CAG is a way for people in the community surrounding a Superfund site to participate in EPA's decision-making process and to present and discuss their needs and concerns. The CAG will not replace other forms of public input, but provide an opportunity for a more in-depth exploration of issues important to the community and to help identify common ground in the community where it exists.

The committee reviewed 46 applications submitted by local stakeholders. They sought to identify a manageable-sized group that could represent the overall community with regard to background, interests, age, gender, affiliations, geography, and viewpoints. The committee has identified a 23-member board with folks from Bay City, Saginaw, Midland, and several other communities representing a very wide range of backgrounds and interests.

"All of the applications the committee reviewed were from well qualified and wonderful members of the community. The challenge the steering committee faced was to identify a group that looks like the community, with the appropriate balance of ideas, perspectives, and interests. It was a challenging task, and it meant that some great folks were not selected. The committee really worked hard to get the balance right and bring a broad range of interests to the table. I think they did a great job," said Doug Sarno, an independent facilitator hired by USEPA to help manage the process.

These are the members:
R. Drummond Black, Midland
Ronald Campbell, Frankenlust
Carol Chisholm, Saginaw
Charles Curtiss, Bay City, with the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy
Michael Espinoza, Bay City
Kathleen Hart, Mt. Pleasant
Leonard Heinzman, Freeland
Deborah Huntley, Saginaw
Michelle Hurd-Riddick, Saginaw, with the Lone Tree Council
Ryan Jankoska, Bay City
Lametria A. Johnson-Eaddy, Saginaw
Wendy Kanar, Midland
Michael Kelly, Freeland, with the Saginaw Bay Watershed Initiative Network
Judith Lincoln, Saginaw
Jan McGuire, Midland
David Meyer, Freeland
Laura Ogar, Bay City, Bay County Environmental Affairs & Community Development director
Annette Rummel, Frankenmuth, CEO of the Great Lakes Bay Regional Convention and Visitors Bureaus
Daniel Sosa, Saginaw
Michelle Steele, Saginaw
Joel Tanner, Saginaw
Paul Vasold, Freeland
William George Webber, Bay City/Linwood
Bob Weise, Saginaw. "
 

http://ourmidland.com/articles/2009/11/15/local_news/2219243.txt

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