| DEQ to issue
Notice of Deficiency to Dow |
|
| Kathie Marchlewski , The Midland Daily News | 12/04/2003 |
| The Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality is asking The Dow Chemical Co. to speed up efforts to
keep people from being exposed to dioxin in the Tittabawassee River flood plain and
Midland soils. The state agency plans to issue a Notice of Deficiency to the company next week for off-site corrective action activities required under its hazardous waste facility operating license. While some projects are under way, including a study of wildlife exposure to contaminants, others are taking longer than the DEQ would like. The DEQ had requested that Dow make it a high priority to conduct soil sampling in Midland neighborhoods near the Dow plant, to identify properties with the highest potential for human exposure to dioxin and to stop crop production at Dow-owned farm land. Dow has not yet submitted plans for those projects. "The timing of a lot of the work needs to be compressed," said Al Taylor of the Waste and Hazardous Materials Division of the MDEQ. "The interim response activities we expect to be completed by the end of the year or as soon as possible." The activities include the posting of dioxin warning signs at public areas along the river – at Midland parks, Caldwell Boat Launch, Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge and Green Point Nature Center. The DEQ, Dow, Michigan Department of Community Health and local health departments are expected to meet in upcoming weeks to decide what language should be included on the signs. Dow representatives explained to a group of community leaders and residents at a DEQ-sponsored meeting Wednesday that they have been working on the interim projects, though progress has been slow. "There’s a lot of work," said spokeswoman Terri Johnson. Some projects have been delayed by no fault of Dow, added spokesman Garrett Geer. The wildlife study, for example, might have been completed earlier, but the state made it difficult for the company to become licensed to collect samples of deer and other animals before mid-November. "We are seeing progress," said Cheryl Howe of the DEQ. "This is a big job, it really is." Dow has 45 days from the time of the Notice of Deficiency to revise and submit work plans, though the DEQ is "putting pressure" on the company to complete activities before then, Taylor said. |
|
| İMidland Daily News 2003 | |
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawasse 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.