Tittabawassee River Watch   www.trwnews.net

History of the Polluters Free Ride

12/6/06 HB5872 passes in senate committee.  The bill originally would have required the state to recalculate the criteria based on a report released in July by the National Research Council of the National Academies.

The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality suggested a substitute, which was passed, that included that the Department "may" recalculate cleanup criteria for dioxin based on the new information.

HB 5872 is a modified version of bill HB4617 vetoed by Governor Granholm in the last moments of 2005 to end another sad chapter in this continuing saga.   Former Dow employees, Representative Moolenaar and Senator Goschka, are responsible for introducing legislation that would essentially free Dow Chemical of many of it's responsibilities for the dioxin contamination of mid Michigan.

12/6/06ioxin bill 5872 passes in senate committee

12/5/06 Moolenaar's dioxin bill 5872 up in the Senate

6/22/06 Dioxin bill 5872 passes in House; effect uncertain

6/21/06 Moolenaar's dioxin bill 5872 passed by committee

07/25/06  Politicians Misuse Federal 1000 ppt Dioxin "Action" Level, ATSDR concurs

Lone Tree Council

P.O. 1251, Bay City, Michigan 48706

(Fighting for environmental justice since 1978)

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE CONTACT:

GROUPS CALL ON MID-MICHIGAN LEGISLATORS TO LIFT THE SMOKE SCREEN

Misuse of Federal 1000 ppt Dioxin Level Increases Exposure, Benefits Dow

State representatives should stop misusing a federal 'action level' not designed for setting cleanup standards for the highly toxic chemical dioxin, charged several environmental organizations. 

Groups released a letter today from Howard Frumkin, Director of the National Center for Environmental Health (NCEH) and the Agency for Toxic Substances and Disease Registry (ATSDR).  The letter was sent in response to a request from environmental organizations for clarification on the ATSDR number, often referenced by Midland-area legislators seeking to weaken Michigan’s dioxin cleanup number. The letter states in part: "...the concept of an ‘Action Level’ for dioxins in soils has sometimes been misunderstood."  The letter directly comments on the use of the1,000 ppt standard in proposed legislation in Michigan.  It states:

"What many elected officials have attempted to do is absolve Dow Chemical for contaminating an entire region with dangerous levels of dioxin.  Raising the "safe" level to a non-existent federal level is shameful," said Tittabawassee River resident Kathy Henry.  

"This should put an end to the continued misuse of the ATSDR 'Action Level' by Representative Moolenaar and other legislators who have tried to confuse the public," said Michelle Hurd Riddick of the Lone Tree Council.  "This kind of misrepresentation does not serve the public interest.  It just means more delays, more exposure, and more risk for the public while we should be moving forward with a real cleanup that is protective of public health.  We can't legislate this problem away."

Environmental and community groups that have opposed attempts to weaken that state's protective standard for dioxin in soils include the Lone Tree Council, the Ecology Center, the Michigan Environmental Council, Environment Michigan, the Sierra Club, Clean Water Action, and Tittabawassee River Watch.

Documents:

04/23/06  Moolenaar out of control, the ATSDR 1000 ppt is not a cleanup level

Moolenaar's new un-sound science legislation is proposing 1,000 ppt dioxin cleanup levels for Michigan is a standout for all the WRONG reasons.

1. Michigan’s 90 ppt RDCC soil criterion for dioxin is a level that is meant to be protective of public health in properties for unrestricted residential use.
2. The ATSDR 1,000 ppt was based on the detection limits of science available over 20 years ago in the 1980's.  Today, scientific instrumentation is much more sensitive and can measure 10 ppt or less.  The Michigan RDCC of 90 ppt was derived using current technology.
3. The ATSDR 1,000 ppt was calculated based on a 1984 assessment by the Centers for Disease Control that is NOT consistent with the current assessment of dioxin’s cancer hazard.
4. The 1,000 ppt level was NOT derived as a "safe" level. It was thought to be a level that could be associated with health effects. Cleanup levels are traditionally set at levels BELOW those thought to cause health effects. Therefore, it is not accurate to suggest that levels below 1,000 ppt pose no risk.
5. Referring to the ATSDR 1,000 ppt level as a cleanup level is not accurate. The 1,000 ppt level is NOT used by ATSDR for that purpose.
6. The 1,000 ppt level was NOT developed to serve as a standard for cleanup for residential areas
7. The 1,000 ppt level does NOT represent a line between safe and unsafe conditions, although it has been used in that way
8. The EPA has been reviewing dioxin’s toxicity for more than 10 years. Their review has been repeatedly peer-reviewed, but political wrangling and the power of the chemical industry have prevented its release. The draft document concludes that dioxin is more toxic than previously thought 
9. If the EPA reassessment were released, the state’s cleanup standard would be more stringent, not weaker, based on a new interpretation of studies on dioxin’s toxicity. The state standard would be between 12 and 53 ppt.
10. The 1,000 ppt level does NOT consider non-cancer health effects that may occur when people are exposed to dioxin at even lower levels than those associated with cancer. The most sensitive endpoint for dioxin’s toxicity is thought to be neurobehavioral impacts.
11. If the state were to use the 1,000 ppt standard, the issue of dioxin’s toxicity will continue to plague the state. When the Dioxin Reassessment is finalized, the EPA will again look at sites and reassess previous actions to determine if they are protective. So a cleanup to 1,000 ppt today will not guarantee that the issue will go away. It could just keep coming up unless contamination is cleaned up to a reasonable and legitimate standard.

Below are letters of support to NOT change Michigan's 90 ppt dioxin RDCC from the last time Dow's stooges tried to change it in June of 2004.

04/29/06  Petition to stop the 1000 ppt cleanup level off to a great start

The kickoff of our petition drive got off to a great start with almost 100 signatures obtained from various locations around the area.

Click here for the latest Lone Tree / TRW Dioxin Update news letter.

04/14/06 Not a rumor: "HB4617 like" bills are being resubmitted by Dow's legislators

"Once vetoed as a poor protection of public health, the Homeowners Fairness Act is back at the state
Capitol with designs to restrict the state's ability to label any property as contaminated." See related
4/7/06 story below.

Click here for more from the Saginaw News or here from the Midland Daily News

"Moe" Moolenaar       "Larry" Stamas  "Curley" Goschka          

04/07/06 Rumor: "HB4617 like" bills are being resubmitted by Dow's legislators

Click here to read all about similar efforts promoted by the three stooges last year.  Fortunately, Governor Granholm vetoed HB4617.  Men such as these lack the necessary morals, ethics, and concern for the health of Michigan's children to be in office.  So now they want to try again.  What's their motive?  Could it be re-election campaign finance?  To be continued.....

 03/04/06 New video documentary: "Mr. Damore goes to Lansing" chronicles the HB4617 fight

Paul Damore, a Grand Valley State University student and resident of the Tittabawassee River flood plain, has created a short "opinion" documentary that is now being screened in a number of film festivals in the Grand Rapids area.    The film covers Paul's 2005 journey to Lansing in attempt to testify against the now defunct HB4617 which would have given Dow (and other sites/polluters) a free ride to escape responsibility for the extensive dioxin contamination in our backyards.  Click on the link below to view:

                                  http://www.jreedproductions.com/nowplaying.htm

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Radio Ads against HB4617

  Terry Miller, Lone Tree Council

  Michelle Hurd Riddick, Lone Tree Council

Below, is a chronological history of their activities. This is not the end, expect more of the same
from these charlatans in 2006. Remember, this is an election year, please review the voting records
of the state and local politicians on HB4617and vote accordingly, their records are listed below.

On Dec 29, 2005, at 10:20 PM, David Holtz wrote:

The House vote on this bill was politics at its very worse. Lawmakers who knew--or should have known
--better supported not only one of the worse environmental bills in 2005, but one of the most
anti-homebuyer, anti-right-to-know measures in memory. Governor Granholm did taxpayers, home
buyers and all who care about holding corporate polluters accountable for cleaning up their messes
a huge favor with her veto. Those who voted for this horrible measure will have to explain to their
constituents why corporate polluters trumped the public interest.

See the roll call vote below

01/02/06 Post Mortem: Why Governor Granholm vetoed Polluter Free Ride bill HB4617

Anne Woiwode, State Director, Sierra Club Mackinac (Michigan) Chapter wrote:

"Governor Granholm has shot down one of the most outrageous bills to come out of the Legislature in a long time. HB 4617, erroneously labeled by its proponents the Homeowner Protection Act, was vetoed by the Governor on Tuesday (DEQ press release at http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135--133138--,00.html ). The bill, pushed hard by legislators from the Midland area, became worse as it moved through the Legislature, and would have gutted key portions of both the process and the standards for clean up of contaminated sites all over Michigan, both letting responsible parties off the hook for clean up AND leaving many homeowners unable to get any clean up of their contaminated property. Many communities in Michigan would have immediately seen the effect of this appalling shift of burden from the responsible parties to the victims of pollution.

An analysis of the bill provided below points out some of its worst provisions. Although many of these severe flaws were explained to the Legislature by DEQ officials at least 3 separate times in comments on the bill, they were none the less left in the bill. We can only assume, when such disturbing concerns were repeatedly raised and not addressed that the Legislative leaders and proponents of this package intended to gut Michigan’s environmental clean up law. In the press release from the DEQ, Director Steve Chester explained that the bill “would have serious implications for the state’s cleanup program, and would put property owners, the health of residents, and their environment at risk.”

The scary thing about this is that it appears that the proponents of gutting Michigan’s clean up laws are not going to simply get over the Governor doing the right thing by vetoing this bill. Already, and not surprisingly, Russ Harding, who was by far Michigan’s worst director of environmental programs ever, has weighed in with a broadside attack and a grossly distorted interpretation of the bill ( http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=7501 ). Keeping up the myth perpetrated by the folks who clearly are looking to benefit from gutting Michigan’s clean up laws, Harding, now with the Mackinac Center, makes the ludicrous claim that current state law ignores property rights and sound science. As has happened throughout this debate, the proponents of HB 4617 have tried to use verbal slight of hand to distract Legislators and the people in Midland in particular from real goal of this legislative effort: to let Dow and others responsible for contaminating property get out of their responsibility to clean up these messes.

Thanks are due to Governor Granholm and the DEQ for holding firm on a crucial part of the clean up law in Michigan. Please take a moment to let them know you appreciate their stalwart defense of common sense and REAL science -- and while you’re at it, find out how your legislators voted (for House votes go to http://www.michiganvotes.org/RollCall.aspx?ID=168296 , for Senate votes go to

(Analysis drawn from DEQ materials)

	Public Health Weakens cleanup requirements that protect Michigan’s families from contaminated soil and contamination of the food chain. By wasting dollars on unnecessary testing, the legislation will mean less cleanup putting more citizens at risk from contamination. Our families deserve to have information on contamination that affects their lives. This bill would restrict that information flow and leave citizens unaware of contamination and how to reduce risks.
	Environment The bill would endanger our state’s great resources by preventing the DEQ from stopping contamination polluting our lakes and streams. The priority for any cleanup project must be placed on protecting our environment, and our citizens. This legislation simply creates opportunities for polluters to avoid and delay cleaning up contamination, putting our environment at an even greater risk.
	Economy This legislation would waste countless dollars on unnecessary testing, disputes, and delays. This takes away from money that could go towards clean-up and redevelopment of a contaminated property for productive use. Supporters of this legislation say that the stigma of a label hurts the economy. They are wrong. It is the contamination itself that hurts our economy, and we must retain the tools to clean up that contamination quickly and efficiently in order to move our economy forward.

Anne Woiwode, State Director
Sierra Club Mackinac (Michigan) Chapter
109 E. Grand River Avenue, Lansing, MI 48906
517-484-2372 fax 517-484-3108

Enjoy, Explore and Protect -  www.michigan.sierraclub.org  "

01/02/06 Post Mortem: Why HB4617 guts environmental laws

The language of HB4617 intentionally left out key references to MDEQ Administrative Rules for Part 201, Environmental Remediation, of the Natural Resources and Environmental protection At, 1994.  Click here to view a copy of the rules as posted on MDEQ website 1/2/06.