Tuesday, December 16, 2003

JEREMIAH STETTLER
THE SAGINAW NEWS

The state Department of Environmental Quality says Dow Chemical Co.'s plan for cleaning up dioxin along the Tittabawassee River isn't good enough.

State regulators Monday released a 27-page notice of deficiency to the Midland-based chemical giant, criticizing its plan to cope with dioxin contamination.

Soil samples taken this year along the river unearthed dioxin levels up to 80 times higher than the state standard.

The state's report identifies 63 deficiencies in Dow's plan. Some are as simple as typographical errors. Others require Dow to develop a blueprint for removing dioxin-laden agricultural land from crop production.

Dow has until Wednesday, Jan. 28, to make changes and submit a final draft.

"We knew it was coming," said Susan Carrington, vice president and director of the company's dioxin initiative. "We knew MDEQ would have comments. That's what this process is designed to do."

Dow opponents maintain the company is using the process to delay cleanup of the Tittabawassee River floodplain.

"How does a Fortune 500 company with an army of attorneys well-versed in regulatory affairs and some of the best scientific minds in the world come up with a plan that is so deficient, if not by design?" asked Michelle Hurd-Riddick, a member of the environmental watchdog group Lone Tree Council.

"I have contended since the beginning that Dow is trying to stall the process. This is Dow stalling."

Dow spokeswoman Terri M. Johnson said the company is doing nothing of the sort. "None of this is delay tactics," she said. "We are following the process."

State regulators also argue that Dow's cleanup timeline too slow. They are asking the company to submit more detailed work plans that Dow could implement "immediately" after state approval.

Dow officials, though making no promises, say they are "eager" to move the process forward.

"Dow is committed to taking action as expediently as possible so long as it will not compromise the integrity of the study and will include the community's input," Johnson said.

She said the company wants to make sure it is addressing dioxin concerns in the "right" way.

Rick Hayes, a Board of Trustees member in Tittabawassee Township, claims Dow has suffered undue criticism for supposedly dragging its feet. He said the company has gone out of its way to clean up dioxin in his township.

Hayes pointed to a Freeland Festival Park project that would cover the two-acre park with new topsoil, build a meandering cobblestone wall beside the foot path and install a floating dock along the river. The project would cost $225,000.

Hayes said Dow was quick to contribute.

"They said, 'Whatever you need. Whatever you want. Money is not an object,' " Hayes recalled. "They suggested things that we didn't."

The notice of deficiency comes four months after Dow submitted its original cleanup plan to the state -- a document required by its operating license. t

Jeremiah Stettler is a staff writer for The Saginaw News. You may reach him at 776-9685.

© 2003 Saginaw News.