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09/03/08 New EPA FOIA documents
concerning Mary Gade and Dow dioxin in Saginaw Bay watershed
CREW, Citizens for Responsible Ethics in
Washington has posted thousands of pages of EPA documents pertaining to Dow
Chemical’s dioxin contamination in the Saginaw Bay watershed. The documents
were in response to a Freedom of Information request CREW filed with EPA when
Mary Gade, Regional Administrator at Region V was terminated by Steven Johnson
the head of EPA because she was holding the chemical giant accountable—refusing
to play their game and running interference with their persistent end run to EPA
headquarters to garner favor--- ( read the documents). No doubt in my mind that
Mary Gade had to go—she was interfering with Dow’s plans which you can bet are
still being pursued--behind closed doors.
Not holding our
much hope for hearings on Gade's termination because of the election, national
fatigue with this administrations malfeasance and Administrator Johnson hiding
behind the cloak of executive privilege.
Lone Tree
Council recently received FOIA documents too. The folks at CREW were kind enough
to offer us space on their site. We hope to get documents to them by weeks end.
Please visit CREWS site and stay tuned.
Michelle Hurd
Riddick
Lone Tree Council
08/05/08 Next Tri-Cities
dioxin Community Meeting August 7, 2008
The Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) is hosting the next
quarterly Midland/Saginaw/Bay City (Tri-Cities) Dioxin Community Meeting at
6:30 p.m. on Thursday, August 7, 2008, at the Horizons Conference Center,
6200 State Street, Saginaw. The press release and agenda for the meeting
are available at:
Similar to the meeting held on May 7, 2008, this meeting will also feature
several open house stations for one-on-one or small group discussion of
topics of interest with meeting presenters and agency representatives for
one-half hour after the formal portion of the meeting.
Please share this notice with others who might be interested in attending
this meeting or forward their e-mail addresses to me for inclusion on the
distribution list. If you should have any questions, please contact me.
Cheryl Howe
Environmental Engineering Specialist
Hazardous Waste Management Unit
Hazardous Waste Section
517-373-9881/517-373-4797 Fax
Waste and Hazardous Materials Division
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality
P.O. Box 30241, Lansing, MI 48909-7741
Overnight Mail/Street Address:
Constitution Hall, Atrium North, 525 West Allegan Street, Lansing, MI 48933
07/31/08 State refutes 1000
ppt cleanup level
Recent inside EPA article had
several inaccuracies: MDEQ
In response to TRW's concerns after reading a
recent Inside EPA report (see next article), the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality had this to say:
"Director Chester has asked that I respond to your inquiries about the
article that was read by each of you.
This article was written by John Heltman, who had identified himself to
staff as a reporter from "Inside EPA". The article has several
inaccuracies. The DEQ will pursue having a retraction printed and making
sure the corrections are printed.
The reporter's first question was why we were using 1 ppb as the cleanup
level and staff repeated several times that it was not a cleanup level, 90
ppt or 0.09 ppb is the current state residential cleanup value and explained
that Dow has the option to propose a site-specific cleanup value, which
would require our review and approval. The 1-ppb was never identified as a
clean-up level, but as an INTERIM RESPONSE ACTIVITY (IRA) LEVEL. The IRA
Level was explained to be a trigger for more immediate action, not a
clean-up criterion. When asked if the final cleanup level would be lower
than 1 ppb, staff indicated that we could not predict what the final cleanup
level would be at this time. It would depend on the exposure pathways
addressed and toxicity values used. Staff did say that without EPA's
reassessment being complete, MDEQ will need to review what Dow proposes to
use as part of their site-specific assessment.
When asked why we used 1 ppb instead of 0.09 ppb for IRAs, staff indicated
the IRA levels were chosen to address the worst first, highest likely
residential exposures as interim responses, with others to be addressed as
part of the final cleanup. If you recall, in 2005, the Department required
Dow to complete IRAs on properties that were frequently flooded, assuming,
based on DEQ sampling, that these properties were at or near the 1 ppb
level. If we tried to address everything over 90 ppt as an IRA, the number
of properties would be so large that it could hold up the investigation of
the rest of the river. Staff also indicated that agreeing to 1 ppb for IRAs
allowed for IRAs to proceed sooner for the areas with greater exposure
potential".
Jim Sygo
Deputy Director
Department of Environmental Quality
While we appreciate MDEQ's timely response, TRW
believes that if this is a State RCRA lead project, the States 90 ppt.
residential contact number should be used instead of 1000 ppt., until a time
that that number is proven overprotective.
Kathy Henry
07/29/08
EPA gives up on Midland cleanup,
reverts to 1984 "science"
 |
A recent article
(see below) states
“An MDEQ official says Michigan opted
for the 1000 ppt cleanup level -- instead of its own more stringent 90
ppt cleanup level -- because the amount of land in the Midland area that
would have been considered contaminated at that level is too great to
possibly remediate in the interim…” |
|
 TRW
Note: In 2006, Dr. Howard Frumkin, M.D., Director National Center
for Environmental Health of the CDC's ATSDR
stated in a letter
that the 1000 ppt Action Level "was not intended to either define the
need for remediation or to serve as a threshold below which there is no
public health concern." |
|
The 1000
number was generated decades ago using techniques that are questionable
today, click here to
view facts about the 1000 myth. |
|
The Dioxin
Reassessment report has been a work in progress since 1991, much
of the delay in it's official release have been due to intense
lobbing by the chemical industry.
Click here for details |
----------
Risk Policy Report
July 29, 2008
EPA
Requires Limited Dioxin Cleanup At Dow Site Absent Final Risk Levels
EPA is requiring
Dow Chemical Co.
to conduct a limited dioxin removal action in a residential neighborhood
near the company's Michigan site, but regulators will not be able to impose
stricter remediation levels until the agency finalizes a long-awaited risk
assessment for the chemical, a state official says.
At the same time,
environmentalists are criticizing EPA's decision to set a 1 part-per-billion
(ppb) cleanup level for the removal action, saying the agency has adopted
levels significantly weaker than requirements at other dioxin-contaminated
sites, which could undermine state efforts to impose their own, stricter
requirements.
EPA entered into an
Administrative Order of Consent (AOC) with Dow July 11 to remove dioxin
contamination from soil at 11 homes near the company's Midland, MI,
facility. The residential neighborhood is part of a massive
dioxin-contaminated area in the Tittabawassee and Saginaw River areas, which
has gained notoriety after former EPA Region V Administrator Mary Gade
claimed she was ousted for requiring strict cleanup levels there.
The site has also
highlighted the difficulty EPA is facing setting dioxin cleanup levels as it
struggles to complete a decades-in-the-making risk assessment for the
chemical. As a result, many observers are also closely watching developments
at the site because they believe it could set a precedent for the stringency
of other dioxin cleanups in the absence of EPA completing its risk
assessment.
EPA has been struggling
to revise the assessment and has not yet set regulatory levels for dioxin
while its final risk assessment is unfinished. Agency sources said recently
that EPA is restarting its stalled review of its draft risk assessment of
dioxin, and in coming weeks the agency's Science Advisory Board will begin
forming a panel to conduct a review and provide advice in finalizing the
assessment, which will eventually be used to set regulatory levels.
In this case, the AOC,
which was released July 15, said EPA's general cleanup level for direct
contact in residential soils was 1 ppb, but noted the Michigan Department of
Environmental Quality (MDEQ) requires a more restrictive cleanup level of
0.09 ppb. Michigan waived its standard and consented to the 1-ppb cleanup
level, however, because state regulations allow for a different cleanup
number to be developed and used based on site-specific and other
information, the AOC says.
Joel Hirschorn, a
Superfund consultant to some communities, said in a 2006 article for
Remediation Journal that the 1-ppb cleanup level that EPA uses for
residential areas is based on the 1984 risk assessment EPA is now struggling
to revise. Hirschorn says EPA has called the 1-ppb level a policy-based
level, which correctly distinguishes it from a risk- or health-based cleanup
standard.
An MDEQ official says
Michigan opted for the 1-ppb cleanup level -- instead of its own more
stringent 0.9-ppb cleanup level -- because the amount of land in the Midland
area that would have been considered contaminated at that level is too great
to possibly remediate in the interim, so as a matter of practicality the
level had to be set to 1 ppb. "Part of it is that there's so much area
that's above 0.9 [ppb], it would be too [large]," the source said. "We tried
to find places that, in the interim, could be addressed, and it was decided
and agreed between the state and Dow that 1 ppb [was acceptable]. We have to
move forward and the people with the highest concentrations get addressed
first."
EPA said in a statement
that the remediation effort at the Riverside Boulevard site was designed to
remove contaminated soil to a specific depth and replace it with clean soil
to eliminate a direct contact threat to the residents of the neighborhood,
and thus was "not keyed to a specific dioxin risk level" and that MDEQ had
taken part in the negotiations as well. The statement adds that the site was
one of a series of ongoing remediation projects related to the Midland plant
and "was not envisioned as establishing a national dioxin policy precedent."
EPA and state officials
say the agreement does not foreclose the possibility that regulators could
come back in the future and require stricter cleanup levels. Superfund law
generally allows removal actions such as this to meet less-restrictive
cleanups as remedial actions.
The MDEQ official,
however, says regulators will not be able to do that until after EPA
finalizes its risk assessment. A future cleanup requirement could be
stricter than 1 ppb, the source says, "but it depends on the contamination
pathways and what [EPA's] dioxin toxicity value ends up being. Everybody's
waiting for the [risk] assessment to be finalized, so without having that,
we have to wait for Dow to propose something."
The state official's
comments highlight long-standing concerns from environmentalists and others,
who say that in the absence of EPA finalizing its risk assessment industry
will be able to delay strict cleanup levels. Industry "wants to get final
cleanup plans in place so that [regulators] won't be able to backtrack" when
EPA releases the final risk data, one environmental scientist has said.
Meanwhile, other sources
say EPA's selection of a 1-ppb cleanup level is inadequate, even as an
interim measure. The 1-ppb cleanup level is "still an old standard, and not
protective of human health," one environmentalist says, pointing out that
other regulators have adopted a dioxin cleanup level for residential soils
that is an order of magnitude lower than 1 ppb.
In his 2006 article,
Hirschorn noted, for example, that EPA Region IV has set a residential
cleanup level for dioxin at 200 parts per trillion (ppt) for two Superfund
sites, while Montana's Department of Environmental Quality has also adopted
the 200-ppt cleanup level. "This suggests a shift in EPA policy" away from
the 1-ppb level, he says.
The environmentalist
adds that the argument for adopting a weak cleanup standard as a means of
creating a manageable solution is not a novel one, and has been employed
almost as long as Superfund has been around. "They're making management
decisions based on what they can do rather than what's protective" of the
residents, the source says.
The source welcomes
EPA's disclaimer that the removal action was not a precedent. "I'm glad they
went to the trouble of acknowledging that it's not something worth copying,"
the source says. "They're just trying to justify their approval" of the
1-ppb level.
A source with Dow says
the company's negotiations with EPA have been "reasonable" but added that
the company maintains the work is unnecessary because soil contamination is
not a source of exposure to the residents in the area. The source says Dow
conducted a study on its own of the residents in the area and concluded the
dioxin in the soil was not reaching the residents, therefore making the
remediation superfluous to ensuring their health. "But we're a regulated
party, and we're going to do what we said we would do," the source says.
The site is the fourth
of five projects EPA is requiring Dow to complete in order to remove the
dioxin and furan contamination along the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers
caused by the Midland plant, which has been in operation since the late 19th
century. Two of the other remediation projects were completed in 2007, and
an environmental dredging project in the Tittabawassee is ongoing. -- John
Heltman
07/29/08 EPA issues gag order
to staff, no talking to investigators or press
As reported by
the Associated Press
The Environmental Protection Agency is telling its
pollution enforcement officials not to talk with
congressional investigators, reporters and even the
agency's own inspector general, according to an internal
e-mail provided to The Associated Press. The June 16
message instructs 11 managers in the EPA's Office of
Enforcement and Compliance Assurance, the branch of the
agency charged with making sure environmental laws are
followed, to remind their staff members to keep quiet.
"If you are contacted directly by the IG's office or
GAO requesting information of any kind ... please do not
respond to questions or make any statements," reads the
e-mail sent by Robbi Farrell, the division's chief of
staff. Instead, staff members should forward inquiries
to a designated EPA representative,
the memo says. ....
07/28/08
32 years later, study finds Seveso
babies 6x likely to suffer thyroid malfunction
As the authors conclude, these findings suggest that maternal exposure to
dioxins such as TCCD in the environment produces damaging effects on the thyroid
function of their babies "far apart in time from the initial exposure."
release date: 28-Jul-2008
Contact: Andrew Hyde
press@plos.org
Public Library of Science
Long-lasting effects of the Seveso disaster on
thyroid function in babies
Three decades after an accident at a chemical factory in Seveso, Italy in
1976, which resulted in exposure of a residential population to the most
dangerous type of dioxin, newborn babies born to mothers living in the
contaminated area at the time of the accident are over six times more likely
to have altered thyroid function than those born to mothers in a
non-contaminated area. The study finding these results is published in the
open access journal PLoS Medicine this week by Andrea Baccarelli (of
the University of Milan) and colleagues from the United States and Italy.
07/23/08
New EPA Midwest regional
administrator appointed The U.S. Environmental Protection
Agency has a new regional administrator. Federal administrator Stephen L.
Johnson announced Monday that he appointed Lynn Buhl, a deputy assistant
administrator in the Office of Enforcement and Compliance Assurance at EPA
headquarters, to the administrator position.
Buhl will replace Mary Gade, who was fired/resigned
May 1 amid internal fights over dioxin contamination near Dow Chemical Co.'s
headquarters in Midland, Mich.
As a Bush political appointee Buhl's tenure may be limited to 6 months
depending upon the elections in November. Will recent progress on the
Tittabawassee River flood plain clean up come to a screeching halt? Will
Buhl develop a conscious as Mary Gady seemingly did so last year? Buhl was
rejected for a number or prior jobs,
what makes here qualified for this job? Will Dow have any influence on
Buhl's actions? Only time will tell. Below is a recent article from
Grist Magazine concerning Buhl and her past.
In the EPA's Midwestern division, a pro-industry
stalwart replaces a dioxin stickler
Back in May, Mary Gade found herself unceremoniously ousted from her
post as Midwest regional administrator.
According to an excellent Chicago Tribune
article by Michael Hawthorne, Gade had been locked in a
battle with Dow over the chemical giant's massive, long-standing dioxin
mess in low-income areas of Michigan.
Hawthorne reports that Gade crossed a line with her bosses in
Washington when "she sent contractors to test soil in [one] neighborhood
where Dow had found high dioxin levels. The levels in one ... yard were
nearly six times higher than the federal cleanup standard, and 65 times
higher than what Michigan considers acceptable."
Said Gade after her firing: "There's no question this is about Dow. I
stand behind what I did and what my staff did. I'm proud of what we
did."
Evidently keen to keep sure such confrontations with powerful
industry players from happening again, the EPA has named Lynn Buhl as
Gade's replacement. The agency's press release paints Buhl as a diligent
career public servant. But as this vintage
2003 Daily Grist entry shows, Buhl is a long-time industry
stalwart.
Buhl's ties to the Michigan area go back decades.
Starting in 1988, Buhl worked for 10 years as "senior staff
counsel for environmental legal affairs" for car giant DaimlerChrysler
Corp. In that decade of cheap oil, Detroit launched a highly profitable
SUV craze -- a trend from which the planet may never recover.
After that, she went to work for in the Michigan's Department of
Environmental Quality for then Gov. John Engler (R), a
notorious
environmental scoundrel.
By 2003, Buhl was cozying up to Republican politicians in Maryland,
where Gov. Robert Ehrlich nominated her to head the state's Department
of the Environment. The choice was such a travesty that the Maryland
Senate
rejected the nomination -- a rebuke so stinging that it made
national news, as the above-linked Daily Grist entry shows.
It's a shame that a region beset by persistent dioxin poisoning from
a corporate titan like Dow is getting such an apparent industry shill as
its top federal environmental watchdog.
I should note, though, that Mary Gade, the woman who was ousted from
Buhl's new post for standing up to Dow, also spent time working as an
industry lawyer, for the firm Sonnenschein, Nath, and Rosenthal. Maybe
Buhl will have a similar change of conscience?
I hope so. According to the above-linked Chicago Tribune
article, here's how things stand in the part of Michigan dumped on by
Dow:
[A]ll along the two wide streams that cut through this old
industrial town, signs warn people to keep off dioxin-contaminated
riverbanks and to avoid eating fish pulled from the fast-moving
waters. Officials have taken the swings down in one riverside park
to discourage kids from playing there. Men in rubber boots and thick
gloves occasionally knock on doors, asking residents whether they
can dig up a little soil in the yard.
07/23/08 Richard Maltby
publishes his last book in the Pollution Signature series
TRW appreciates Mr. Matlby's efforts in keeping track of
Dow's contamination of the Tittabawassee River.
From the author:
"This volume of The Aftermath, a
supplemental report is the last in a series of books including the Pollution Signature,
The Dioxin Story, and Revival of the Tittabawassee, and
The Aftermath, Restoration of a Failed Ecosystem.
Copies are available in local libraries.
Mr.
Maltby a retired professional urban and environmental resource planner is a
member of the American Institute of Certified Planers (AICP) and the American
Planning Association. He has 38 years of experience in Michigan, Illinois, and
New York; the most recent as the Midland county planning director from
1983-1998.
07/15/08
EPA says Dow agrees to clean up
dioxin contamination in Riverside neighborhood
CONTACT:Mick Hans, 312-353-5050,
hans.mick@epa.gov
Karen Thompson, 312-353-8547,
thompson.karen@epa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 08-OPA121
Dow Chemical to clean up dioxin contamination in Saginaw's
Riverside Boulevard neighborhood
CHICAGO (July 15, 2008) - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5
today announced an agreement with Dow Chemical Co. that requires the company
to clean up dioxin contamination in the Riverside Boulevard neighborhood of
Saginaw, Mich. Construction work in this neighborhood on the Lower
Tittabawassee River is expected to begin in late July and continue through
the fall.
EPA's data shows unacceptably high levels of dioxin contamination in
yards, the unpaved Riverside Boulevard roadway and in the interior of some
homes.
Last April, EPA took soil samples at the residential properties following
discussions and consultation with Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality and Michigan Department of Community Health.
"We are pleased that Dow and EPA were able to reach agreement on the
terms of this cleanup," said EPA Region 5 Superfund Division Director
Richard Karl. "EPA will continue to oversee all aspects of the work along
Riverside Boulevard in close coordination with MDEQ and MDCH."
The agreement, called an administrative order on consent, includes:
* Excavation of residential yards, then backfilling with clean soil.
* Interior cleaning of homes.
* Remediation of unpaved surfaces on Riverside Boulevard.
Dow's Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant.
Dioxins and furans are byproducts from the manufacture of chlorine-based
products. Past waste disposal practices, emissions and incineration at Dow
have resulted in on- and off-site dioxin and furan contamination. A copy of
the administrative order on consent and other documents are at
http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical.
Sent by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency · 1200 Pennsylvania Avenue
NW · Washington DC 20460 · 202-564-4355
06/30/08 Fourth book in series
on local dioxin pollution released
Richard Maltby of Midland has published a anew
book: The Aftermath, Restoration of a Failed Ecosystem
From the author:
"This is the fourth edition of a series of my books
oj the pollution of the Tittabawassee River and environs, and the
dioxin-contaminated community of Midland and floodplain by the Dow Chemical
Company. My previous edition include the Pollution Signature,
The Dioxin Story, and Revival of the Tittabawassee.
As noted in this edition, concern is with the restoration of a failed ecosystem
brought on by the Down Chemical Company in Midland, Michigan."
Copies are available in local libraries.
Mr.
Maltby a retired professional urban and environmental resource planner is a
member of the American Institute of Certified Planers (AICP) and the American
Planning Association. He has 38 years of experience in Michigan, Illinois, and
New York; the most recent as the Midland county planning director from
1983-1998.
06/22/08 Lone Tree / TRW
Dioxin update: Slurry Pit Update
A public
meeting regarding the Operational Management Plan (OMP) for the Upper
Saginaw River Dredged Materials Disposal Facility is planned for June 24,
2008. The OMP is on
www.Dredgeitright.org site. The meeting
will be held at Curtis Hall SVSU campus starting at 7pm.
Other Topics:
|
Last week several of
us met with the Lieutenant Governor who intervened in the slurry pit debate
between the DEQ and the Corp. Mr. Cherry stated, as has DEQ management, that
the Corp of Engineers claimed “ sovereign immunity”, i.e. we are above the
laws of the state of Michigan. |
|
On January 28th
Jim Koski pulled his application for groundwater permits required under Part
22. The next day Jim Koski, notified MDEQ that Dow Chemical pulled funding
for the slurry wall. |
|
Without Dow the
strategy had to change. So the Corp submitted a study, paid for by Dow,
which said a slurry wall was not needed |
|
Will James, Saginaw,
Thomas or Tittabawassee Twp be the recipient of a slurry pit too? Page 6 of
the Framework agreement says Dow can construct a facility like the one on
the Saginaw River for their cleanup along the Tittabawassee River.
|
| The
Lieutenant Governor believed Dow over his agency (DEQ). Who would you
believe?
 | Opinion of Dow contractor Environ (paid
for by Dow) on why the DMDF is safe without a slurry wall.
READ MORE |
| DEQ response stating why the Environ
opinion is in error and why the DMDF does need a slurry
wall.
READ MORE |
|
Click here for
all the details or here for Dioxin Updates going back to February 2003
06/01/08
Lone Tree Council / CACC Anniversary presentation by Dave Dempsey
 Congratulations
to the Lone Tree Council and CACC for 30 years of defending Michigan's
environment! A
celebration held today was enjoyed by a group of almost 100 members and friends,
and was honored with guest speaker, and Great Lakes author, Dave Dempsey.
 Dave is a former Policy Advisor for the Michigan Environmental Council, former
Environmental
Advisor to Governor Jim Blanchard and was appointed to the Great Lakes Fishery
Commission by President Bill Clinton.
His insightful speech (see link below) touched on many points critical to restoring the
one of a kind environment enjoyed by so many living in Michigan. Below are
a number of excerpts, please read the entire speech, solutions are
offered!
| "We have begun, I believe, to allow the Great Lakes to be converted to a
product. And this we must never do." |
| "Do we really want water to be subject to the same erratic, exploitative
control and pricing that petroleum is subject to Imagine a 20 cent per
gallon price rise in one day for water. It wouldn’t be a mere inconvenience
– it could kill. |
Water is
different.
Water has a spiritual value.
Water is life.
I want Michigan to be the last best
defender of fresh water. If not us, who? If not now, when? "
| "In short, looking at Michigan conservation and environmental policy
from the outside in, I’ve come to the conclusion that the system is broken.
That is, the problem is systemic. It’s not just Dow, or Whirlpool, or
Meijer, or 100 other examples. It’s a systemic problem that will require a
systemic solution. Or several of them. This is where I want to propose a new
road for us to take." |
Let’s look at the system as a
whole – and let’s fix it.
·
Let’s fix the campaign
finance system.
·
Let’s fix Michigan’s
judicial system.
·
Let’s fix the environmental
decision making system.
·
Let’s fix the economic
system.
The speech contains all of the details between the bullet points above.
In our opinion, one of the most critical issues brought up was the urgent need
to take back our Michigan Supreme Court. As Dave put it,
"We
don’t have a Supreme Court anymore, we have a Supreme Corporation"
"This year, one of the principal architects of a series of dangerous
rulings, Clifford Taylor, is up for re-election to an eight-year term. If
fixing the campaign finance system or the method of choosing Supreme Court
justices seems too big a mission for you, I recommend one simple thing: vote
Clifford Taylor out of office. That’s one step toward righting the balance
of the public and the private interest."
Click here to to view the speech.
06/01/08 EPA
responds: Chamber of Commerce statements have little factual basis
As posted in the Saginaw News "My View" column Saturday June 1, 2008
Assumptions without research lead to misinformation
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency shares the
view recently
expressed in these pages by Bob Van Deventer of the Saginaw County Chamber
of Commerce that protecting the health and safety of residents in the
Saginaw Valley environment is a top priority.
However, Van Deventer's presentation of the issues concerning dioxin
contamination in the Tittabawassee River system leaves out several important
details.
Van Deventer claims that "not one individual has ever been ill because of
the effects of furans/dioxins" in the river. This is a striking
oversimplification. To EPA's knowledge, no specific study has ever been
conducted that supports this statement.
Certainly, in the case of dioxin, delaying action until people actually
suffer clinical health effects would be irresponsible.
Considerable evidence shows that adverse health effects are possible and
may begin to occur when individuals are exposed at levels not much higher
than those expected for the general population. Also, available data show
elevated dioxin levels in soils near many private homes as well as in local
game and fish in the Saginaw Valley.
Another Van Deventer claim, that "wildlife along the Tittabawassee River
is flourishing," has little factual basis. The EPA has never received a work
plan for an ecological risk assessment by Dow or Michigan State University
researchers that meets the agency's baseline requirements. Furthermore, the
MSU wildlife studies to date have not undergone peer review.
Finally, in discussing the University of Michigan's preliminary results
from its dioxin exposure study, Van Deventer states that it "clearly showed
very little difference in dioxin blood levels" between Tittabawassee River
floodplain residents and a test group not living in the area. Again, the U-M
study has yet to be fully peer-reviewed.
To conclude anything definitive at this early date would seem to be an
attempt to limit further discussion. A final report is not expected until
late this year at the earliest.
The studies under way clearly demand the full scrutiny of the scientific
and academic communities. The agencies also fully support the concept of
new, additional studies of human and ecological health in the area by
qualified researchers. To do anything less is to short-change the residents
and the health of the Saginaw Valley.
Mario M. Mangino is a toxicologist with the U.S. Environmental
Agency's Region 5 in Chicago.
06/1/08 EPA: Agencies consider
downstream effect of river restoration
As posted in the Saginaw News "My View" column Saturday June 1, 2008, 2-3
months after it was submitted in response to Horn's My View article of 2/29/08
-----
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency agrees with state
Rep. Kenneth
B. Horn that all parties with a vested interest in cleaning up the
pervasive, long-standing dioxin and furan contamination in the Tittabawassee
and Saginaw rivers should work together to resolve this complex problem.
The residents who live along these valuable natural resources have been
waiting for decades and deserve to finally see real action.
The EPA is working closely with the Michigan Department of Environmental
Quality to accelerate the process and help bolster the state's efforts to
compel Dow Chemical Co. to clean up the Tittabawassee River.
To be accountable to the public we serve, the EPA must also provide
clarity, context and, in a few instances, corrections regarding some issues
that were recently raised by Horn in these pages.
In 2006, Dow assured the DEQ that it would clean up three highly
contaminated sections of the Tittabawassee River, but in 2007 the company
indicated it would not finish by the end of the year. When Dow proposed two
more years to finish work on the section near its Midland facility and made
no plan to clean up the section six miles downriver, the EPA exercised its
authority under Superfund and ordered Dow to complete all three cleanups
simultaneously in 2007.
It is important to note that the DEQ and Dow were already planning to
remove dioxin-contaminated soil along the 1,600-foot section three miles
downriver from Dow's plant before the EPA got involved.
The plan called for Dow to engineer the riverbank to minimize future
erosion. The goal was to allow the river to expand up the bank and reduce
its energy during high flow periods.
The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service also provided expert opinion, and its
recommendations were incorporated into the work plan. The EPA's order
ensured that the work got done.
Horn made the point that "lots of rip-rap" should be used to keep the
banks from eroding.
While the EPA agrees that using some rip-rap is warranted, overuse may
concentrate the river's energy and cause problems for communities downriver.
The EPA and the DEQ recognize that extensive work needs to be done to
stabilize rapidly eroding riverbanks. However, neither agency considers
lining the river with rip-rap an acceptable solution.
It is also necessary to clarify that as a matter of fact, 300 majestic,
100-year-old oak trees were not ripped from the ground during the cleanup.
According to
Dow's tree inventory, only three of the 419 trees cut down
were oaks. The rest were fast-growing and short-lived cottonwoods and ashes,
generally considered to be less desirable. It is highly unlikely that many
of them were 100 years old since most were small in diameter indicating
relatively young ages.
Certainly, the EPA realizes it is unfortunate that even one tree was cut
down, and that is why Dow was required to plant 430 new trees.
The Fish and Wildlife Service recommended that Dow replace the trees with
a greater variety of native species because diversity makes the area less
susceptible to blight or infestation.
Dow also replaced groundcover in the area with native grasses, an
improvement requested by the Natural Resource Trustees.
The EPA could not agree more with Horn that future work should be
accomplished in a way that does the least damage possible to the natural
beauty of the rivers. The EPA and the DEQ are working together to make sure
that even greater care is taken in the future to protect existing vegetation
and, when possible, enhance the habitat with natural bank stabilization
methods.
Ralph Dollhopf is associate director of the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency's Region 5 Superfund Division in Chicago.
05/29/08 EPA to seek immediate
cleanup of dioxin in riverside residential neighborhood
"One sample of household dust had
dioxin levels of 3,000 parts per trillion, three times more than the federal
cleanup standard. Levels in the yards were as high as 23,000 parts per trillion
and averaged 2,000 parts per trillion."
EPA to seek immediate cleanup of dioxin contamination in riverside
residential area
Release date: 05/28/2008
Contact Information: Kären Thompson, 312-353-8547, thompson.karen@epa.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 08-OPA097
CHICAGO (May 28, 2008) - Officials from U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
Region 5, Michigan Department of Environmental Quality and Michigan
Department of Community Health met with residents of the Riverside Boulevard
neighborhood in Saginaw last night to discuss results of recent sampling of
dioxin-contaminated soil in the area.
Soil from residential properties in an area along the Lower Tittabawassee
River was recently sampled and analyzed by EPA and evaluated in
collaboration with MDEQ and health officials. While final data is still
coming in, preliminary results show properties with unacceptably high levels
of dioxin contamination.
EPA has notified Dow Chemical Co. of the situation and will meet with the
company and MDEQ to discuss potential response actions. EPA and Dow
successfully negotiated the terms of four hot spot cleanup projects
implemented by Dow on the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers downstream of its
Midland, Mich., facility last year.
"This cleanup is a high priority as this dioxin contamination is in a
residential neighborhood," said EPA Region 5 Superfund Division Director
Richard Karl. "We will continue to work with the state agencies to evaluate
results of sampling from other residential areas and consider appropriate
actions.
The recent sampling project was prompted by Dow's February 2008 disclosure
to the agencies of an elevated dioxin level found in a residential soil
sample collected by Dow in November 2007. Under the company's Michigan
operating license which requires Dow to conduct corrective action for
historic releases, MDEQ has been requiring Dow to conduct floodplain soil,
riverbank and sediment sampling in and along the Tittabawassee River
downstream of Midland.
Dow's Midland facility is a 1,900-acre chemical manufacturing plant. Dioxins
and furans are byproducts from the manufacture of chlorine-based products.
Past waste disposal practices, emissions and incineration at Dow have
resulted in on- and off-site dioxin and furan contamination.
# #
05/25/08 Lone Tree / TRW
Dioxin update: CACC/Lone
Tree Council 30 year celebration
Please take time to join us for
this very important anniversary and celebration of thirty years of dedication to
public health and the resources of the Saginaw Bay Watershed. Tickets can be
purchased at the door but I need you to RSVP to me about your intentions to
attend the celebration.
Join us in welcoming the man who
knows the most about these Great Lakes, accomplished writer, author, friend and
educator Dave Dempsey, who graciously agreed to be our honored guest and speaker
for the celebration. Dave is a former Policy Advisor for the Michigan
Environmental Council, former Environmental Advisor to Governor Jim Blanchard
and was appointed to the Great Lakes Fishery Commission by President Bill
Clinton.
Good food, music and so many
reasons to celebrate. Please lend you voice and blend your voice in support of
thirty years of commitment to many more years to come. I look forward to
hearing from you. We remain committed to fighting for the water and resources
of the Saginaw Bay Watershed and this state. Please join as we plan our future
course.
Best always,
Michelle Hurd Riddick
|
DAVE DEMPSEY TO SPEAK AT CACC/LONE TREE
COUNCIL 30TH ANNIVERSARY
Click here for
all the details or here for Dioxin Updates going back to February 2003 |
05/23/08 Lone Tree / TRW
Dioxin update: Slurry Pit Update
“The DEQ admits that the flood actually
occurred, but displacing 1.7 million cubic yards of floodwater won't matter. It
did matter. Floodwaters receded as soon as the railroad grade gave way, draining
the homes of water.
Given the relatively flat topography
of the Saginaw Valley, the equivalent of 14 Pontiac Silverdome-sized swimming
pools 4-feet-3-inches deep has to find someplace to go: Your house. Don't worry;
the Federal Emergency Management Agency will take care of us. The FEMA permit
required was never approved. “
Topics:
|
The Slurry Pit on the Saginaw River
|
|
Our own one of a kind slurry pit
|
|
Crap shoot placing groundwater
monitors
Click here for
all the details or here for Dioxin Updates going back to February 2003 |
05/21/08 UM dioxin study
data misleading in the wrong hands
As posted in the
Saginaw News My View column May 29th 2008 by Greg
Holzman, chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of Community
Health in Lansing.
My View: Completeness of dioxin
studies spurs concern
Posted by Greg Holzman May 20, 2008 13:21PM
The Michigan Department of Community Health has taken an active role
evaluating dioxin contamination in Midland and along the Tittabawassee and
Saginaw rivers. Our goal is to provide accurate health information so people
can make informed decisions to protect themselves and their families.
We know high levels of dioxin are found in soil and river sediments in
this area and the contamination moves into fish and wild game. We know that
fish and wild game from the area contain dioxin at levels much higher than
grocery store food.
Dioxins and furans can be harmful to health. We can't say whether anyone
has ever become ill as a result of dioxin contamination in the Midland and
Saginaw areas. Fact is, we don't know.
Most medical doctors do not have the training or resources to evaluate
chemical exposures.
So it is unlikely that a visit to the doctor's office would trigger
dioxin blood tests. Such tests are expensive and medical insurance does not
pay for them. A dioxin blood test would not help determine the best medical
treatment. Dioxins build up and stay in a person's body for a long time, and
no medical treatment is available to remove them.
The University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Study is a groundbreaking
study of dioxin levels in the blood of Michigan residents. The study,
however, did not study whether people have become ill as a result of the
dioxins in their bodies.
The department is concerned that people who may have the highest exposure
to dioxins in the Midland and Saginaw areas were not part of the study. We
are concerned that citizens will think that fish and wildlife are safe to
eat because of the way some data are presented.
Only a small number of people in the study ate fish from area rivers and
most ate only a few meals per year of fish with lower levels of dioxins. A
handful of people said they eat the more highly dioxin-contaminated fish,
such as catfish. Department surveys show that some people are eating more
fish than the study participants reported. Many people eat the highly
contaminated fish that the department recommends no one eat.
About 14 study properties in the flood plain of the Tittabawassee River
showed dioxin soil concentrations exceeding 1,000 parts per trillion. Most
of the study's soil samples were less than Michigan's 90 parts per trillion
cleanup standard. Yet the results of soil sampling conducted by Dow Chemical
Co., the Department of Environmental Quality and the Environmental
Protection Agency reveal dioxin concentrations greater than 1,000 parts per
trillion, with levels even in the tens of thousands.
Though the answers to these public health questions are important to
people who live in the dioxin contaminated areas, they are not readily
available. Public health and other government officials can best serve the
public by stating the facts accurately and by providing people with the
information they need to make good choices.
Together, we can prevent exposures to dioxins before they cause harm to
our citizens' health.
Greg Holzman is chief medical executive of the Michigan Department of
Community Health in Lansing.
05/21/08 Environment
Report on NPR: Living downstream from Dow Chemical
Recent spot on on NPR
from the Environment Report features local residents
 LIVING
DOWNSTREAM FROM DOW CHEMICAL
Vincent Duffy, the
May 19, 2008
It’s been more than 50 years since Dow Chemical Company stopped dumping
dioxin into the river flowing past its plant in Michigan. But the company and
government regulators are still arguing over how to clean it up.
Click here to view
transcript or
here
to listen on line.
05/18/08 Lone Tree / TRW
Dioxin update:
| Enhanced Wild Game Advisory
|
Last week MDCH, MDEQ
and DNR added to and extended the range for wild game consumption along
these contaminated rivers. Several game were added and the advisory was
extended to include the Saginaw
River. Children and women of childbearing age are
targeted most frequently in the advisory. |
|
| DEQ/Dow quarterly meeting
|
Dow’s
paid consultants and employees utilized a great deal of time going to
the microphone to challenge MDEQ and MDCH on their science. |
|
| A few medial observations
about Mary Gade being fired
|
Dow’s
influence across all levels of government is palpable. |
|
| Dow share holders meeting
5/15/08
|
Andrew Liveris, having
his own schizophrenic moment of disconnect blew off the dioxin
contamination down river from corporate headquarters.
Click here
for
all the details or here for Dioxin Updates going back to February 2003 |
|
05/14/08 Lone Tree / TRW
Dioxin update: Dow
Share holder meeting
| Tough Sister Act
| Once again the Sisters of Mercy carry a
resolution to the shareholders of Dow Chemical insisting the
chemical giant be transparent and forthcoming. Stay tuned for VOTE
#4 from the Dow Chemical Annual General Meeting tomorrow. Last year
the Sisters of Mercy resolution carried an unprecedented 23% of the
shareholders on their resolution. |
|
Click here to read their resolution |
|
| Dow CEO Liveris a Coward
| Below are the
comments given by MEC's Pam Pugh Smith to Andrew Liveris, CEO of Dow
Chemical during the share holder meeting. Pam made these poignant
comments during the public comment period of the annual Dow
shareholders meeting. Of course the web cast is turned off for the
public comment period because for Dow 'corporate accountability' is
an oxymoron.
Pam Pugh
Smith
Michigan
Environmental Council
Address
to the Dow Chemical AGM
Thursday,
May 15th 2008
Midland,
MI
Good
morning. My name is Pamela Pugh Smith and I am a board
member of the Michigan Environmental Council, a coalition of
70 statewide watershed conservation, public health and
environmental organizations. I appreciate the opportunity
to address you today. My primary work with the MEC is
centered on Environmental Justice.
As you
know, dioxin contaminates 52 miles of river and the Saginaw
Bay of Lake Huron, our second largest Great Lake. The
magnitude of this contamination cannot be understated
because it truly impacts our communities. MDCH issued
enhanced fish consumption advisories this past summer…
augmenting the advisories in place since 1978 when dioxins
were first found in Walleye. But walleye are not the only
fish taken from these rivers. The MDCH fish survey found a
disproportionate number of African Americans eating the most
highly contaminated bottom eating fish, mainly cat fish and
carp, from these rivers. Dioxin and furans are persistent
organic pollutants whose impact on developing babies,
children and women of childbearing age are well documented.
In addition to families being exposed through eating this
protein source, children are exposed to contaminated
sediments as they fish from this God-given resource. In the
summer you can find people fishing from the banks of the
river, only yards away from the spot thought to contain the
nations highest levels of dioxin,---1.6 million ppt.
This
contamination demands that we honestly confront the
substantive issue of people who eat these fish to subsist.
This is a moral and ethical issue and there are huge public
health and economic justifications for cleaning up our
rivers. Until that time, it is a danger for the public to be
subject to constant debate over the science provided by
regulatory agencies which is aimed at protecting the health
of vulnerable citizens.
Finally, Mr. Liveris I pose the question to you, is Dow
Chemical of the belief that it is OK for children and women
of childbearing age to consume fish contaminated with dioxin
and furans?
|
|
In response to
Pam's closing question to Mr. Liveris, he stated: " The science
is in, I have answered that question". No he didn't. Coward.
|
|
Not sure just
how nasty the fish would be have to be before it’s a problem for
Mr. Liveris but you can bet the CEO isn’t feeding local fish to
his grandchildren. It’s clearer than ever that Dow wants to define
the parameters of their goodwill and accountability. Only their
science is relevant, and they will define whose water is important,
what clean water is and who in the Human Element matters.
|
Michelle
Hurd Riddick
Lone
Tree Council
|
|
|
|
The outcome: 22% in favor to Sister of Mercy resolution
|
More than 22% of Dow's voting shareholders voted to urge the company
to report on progress to clean up a massive contamination site at
Dow's mid-Michigan global headquarters. |
|
When more than 22% of Dow's 939 million shares voted for more
transparency and action on this issue, the company should take
notice," said Sanford Lewis,
attorney, who drafted the resolution. "The company has appeared in
a series of high profile negative media stories related to the
contamination. The reputational damage to the company is
significant, and suggests a resolution to this issue is long
overdue." |
|
Click here
for the details |
|
05/13/08 State releases new
wild game dioxin advisories
.jpg) As
reported on WEYI TV, "Three state agencies recently announced their
response and concerns regarding Dow Chemical Company study reports on wild game.
In 2004, Dow evaluated concentrations of dioxins in wild game living in the
Tittabawassee River floodplain downstream from the city of Midland. In 2007, Dow
conducted additional studies in the Tittabawassee River and Saginaw River
floodplains.
The
Michigan Departments of Community Health, Environmental Quality and Natural
Resources said samples of wild game taken from the floodplains in 2007 confirm
high levels of dioxin and dioxin like compounds in muscle meats, skin and other
consumable portions of animals. High levels of dioxins previously found in game
taken along the Tittabawassee River had prompted a 2004 Health Advisory for
whitetail deer, turkey, and squirrel. ..."
-
Do not eat the liver from deer harvested in or near the
Tittabawassee River floodplain downstream of Midland. Eating liver
taken from deer harvested in the flood plain of the Saginaw River is not
likely to result in adverse health effects.
-
Limit consumption of muscle meat from deer harvested in or near the
floodplain of the Tittabawassee River downstream of Midland and in or near
the floodplain of the Saginaw River. Women of childbearing age and
children under the age of 15 should eat only one meal of deer muscle meat
harvested in the floodplains per week. Trimming any visible fat will lower
the level of dioxins in the cooked meat.
-
Do not eat turkey harvested in or near the floodplain of the
Tittabawassee River downstream of Midland. While MDCH advises that
you not eat turkey taken from this area, at a minimum the skin, liver and
gizzard should be removed and discarded.
-
Limit consumption of squirrel harvested in or near the floodplain of
the Tittabawassee River downstream of Midland. Women of
childbearing age and children under the age of 15 should eat only one meal
of squirrel from this area per week.
-
Do not eat the skin of Canada goose or wood duck harvested in or
near the floodplain of the Tittabawassee River downstream of Midland and in
or near the floodplain of the Saginaw River. MDCH recommends that
you remove the skin of waterfowl before cooking and discard the liver and
other internal organs.
Click here to view the
entire article
05/07/08 TRW
Press Release: Request federal legislators investigate Gade firing
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE MAY 6 2008
Contacts:
Carol Chisholm 989-790-4836, Cell
860-3510
John Taylor 989-781-2950
Kathy Henry 989-401-1762
Pat Bradt- 989-753-6036
IMPACTED RESIDENTS WANT ANSWERS ABOUT FIRING OF ADMINISTRATOR GADE
Residents living on rivers contaminated with Dow dioxin call on their
legislators for answers
Letters were sent today to Saginaw Bay Watershed’s federal legislative
delegation calling upon them to initiate investigations into the firing last
week of Region V Administrator Mary Gade. Residents living along the highly
contaminated Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers are some of the watersheds most
impacted residents as a result of the chemical companies releases to the
river.
Administrator Gade told the Chicago Tribune she was fired because of
aggressive enforcement against Dow Chemical for their dioxin contamination.
Beginning last spring Region V issued orders under CERCLA demanding Dow Chemical
initiate cleanup of some the highest concentrations of dioxin in the nation.
" There is no doubt in our minds that Ms Gade is gone because she dared
challenge Dow Chemical" said John Taylor who has high dioxin levels on his
property. " We want answers. We didn’t always agree with Ms. Gade, but we
found her sincere and concerned about the well being of river residents."
Most recently Region V initiated an investigation and soils sampling along a
stretch of homes where high levels of dioxin were found. " Residents are
calling on our Congressman and Senators to get to the bottom of Ms Gade’s
dismissal ", said Pat Bradt a Saginaw River resident. In their letter to
elected officials, residents have said enough is enough. " We have watched
Dow manipulate legislators, local officials and the Governor in Michigan for too
many years". They are now apparently calling the shots at the federal level and
we want to know why?
Tittabawassee River resident, Carol Chisholm, said residents are tired of the
decision-making going on behind closed doors and political wrangling that denies
them a legitimate voice and hinders cleanup. " We pay tax-dollars and expect
those agencies who work for us to respond. We deserve a reason and rationale for
why the administrator is gone. She made good things happen. We want to know how
our elected officials feel about Ms. Gade being canned".
Letters were faxed yesterday and residents are hoping their plea does not
fall on deaf ears in Washington. Visit
www.trwnews.net
to track the response
Letter to delegation attached:
The Honorable Carl Levin
United States Senator
FX: 202-224-1388
The Honorable Debbie Stabenow
United States Senator
202) 228-0325
The Honorable Dale Kildee
United States Congressman
FX: 202-225-6393
The Honorable Bart Stupak
United States Congressman
FX: (202) 225 4744
The Honorable Dave Camp
United States Congressman
FX: (202) 225-9679
May 6, 2008
Dear Senators Levin and Stabenow, Congressmen Kildee, Stupak and Camp;
As property owners of the Tittabawassee/Saginaw River's floodplains, we were
shocked, and extremely disappointed to hear of Region 5 EPA Administrator Mary
Gade's resignation.
Particularly because she cited the Dow Chemical dioxin clean up here in
Michigan as the reason for her dismissal.
Under Ms. Gade’s guidance, EPA finally seemed to be on the right tract after
decades of inaction in addressing the Saginaw Bay watershed's dioxin
contamination brought on from over a century of Dow polluting our communities
and watershed.
We have literally had no voice in Dow contaminating our homes, land, and
bodies from local, state and federal government, and community leaders, until
Ms. Gade stepped up to the plate. Her actions gave us hope for a better future.
What's become of this country when politicians cast aside concern for
residents health and well being that are living in the highest level of dioxin
contamination ever recorded in this country? Higher levels than Love Canal and
Times Beach, Missouri. Not to mention that this is the Great Lakes, and Lake
Huron where the contamination continues to spread further with each year of
inaction.
We have been warned by regulators not to eat many of the fish and wild life,
and to wear dust masks when mowing our yards because of Dow’s dioxin. We have
also been advised not to let our children and grand children play in
contaminated areas, in other words, our yards, because of the extremely high
levels found here.
Enough is enough.
We plead to all of you to investigate and make right the forced resignation
of Mary Gade by our federal government. It seems the only concern until Ms.
Gade's authority has been for the polluters. That is unacceptable, outrageous,
and a very sad statement and outlook on what the politics of this country have
become.
Sincerely,
John Taylor
Thomas Twp
Kathy Henry
Tittabawassee Twp
Carol Chisholm
Saginaw Twp
Pat Bradt
Zilwaukee Twp ( Saginaw River resident)
05/06/08 Lone Tree / TRW
Dioxin update: MDEQ meeting Wednesday
DEQ Dioxin Quarterly Meeting is this
Wednesday May 7th at Horizon Conference Center beginning at 6:30.
Agenda items for the meeting include:
| A summary of Dow's 2007 sampling
data for the middle Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River, and Saginaw Bay |
| A brief overview of the fish and
wild game advisory By MDCH |
| A summary of the U.S. EPA' s
recent residential sampling activities |
| A summary of the interim response
activities that the DEQ is requiring Dow to conduct during the 2008 field
season |
| Natural Resource Damage
Assessment
Click here
for
all the details or here for Dioxin Updates going back to February 2003 |
05/06/08 Who fired Mary Gade?
Interesting tidbits
Stephen Johnson, The
Environment’s Alberto Gonzales
It has become clear that EPA Administrator
Johnson has subverted the agency's mission to be an independent watchdog for
the health of the environment and the American people, in contravention of
science, ethics, and the law. What former Attorney General Alberto Gonzales
did to the Justice Department, Johnson is doing to the EPA.
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/04/24/stephen-johnson-gonzales/
Shades Of U.S. Attorney Scandal: Top EPA Official Forced Out By Political
Appointees
It seems the EPA is
following the Department of Justice’s efforts to rid itself of staffers who
are not “loyal Bushies” with the dismissal of EPA Region V Administrator
Mary Gade. Gade in 2000 was a top Bush environmental adviser who argued “I
believe Governor Bush in two terms has put together a stronger bipartisan
record on conservation and the environment than Al Gore has in twenty-plus
years in Washington, D.C., precisely because Bush puts action and results
above talk and posture.”
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/05/01/mary-gade-firing/
Former EPA Official: Gade’s Firing Is ‘Unprecedented And Highly Irregular’
Robert M. Sussman, a Senior Fellow at the Center for American Progress and
former Deputy Administrator of the Environmental Protection Agency, calls
Mary Gade "one
of the most seasoned and experienced environmental policy-makers in the
country" and says, "To remove a Regional Administrator because of a
disagreement over policy at an individual site is unheard of."
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/05/02/sussman-gade-firing/
VIDEO: Sen. Whitehouse Compares EPA Firing To U.S. Attorney Scandal: ‘Déjà
Vu All Over Again’
On the Senate floor, Sen.
Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI) says, "Today it seems that the Bush Administration
might have
once again removed a
highly qualified and well-regarded official whose only misstep was to
disagree with the political bosses."
He also announced that a Senate hearing on Wednesday, May 7 will look into
politicization of the EPA and the Gade firing. Rep. Dingell (D-MI) and Sen.
Durbin (D-MI) also announced their concern with the firing.
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/05/02/whitehouse-gade-deja-vu/
Who Fired Mary Gade?
Gade told the Chicago Tribune two political
appointees under EPA Administrator Stephen Johnson pressured her on the Dow
case and then forced her out the door. The most likely suspects are Deputy
Administrator Marcus Peacock and Assistant Administrator Luis Luna.
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/05/03/who-fired-gade/
Dow’s
Toxic Legacy Of EPA Corruption
In 1983, a dioxin-laced scandal involving the
very same Dow Chemical plant at their Midland, Michigan headquarters led to
a dramatic shakeup of Reagan’s EPA, when Mary Gade was a young staffer at
the agency. A congressional investigation exposed the extent of Dow
Chemical’s influence over the EPA, leading to the dismissal of EPA
Administrator Anne McGill Burford and 12 other officials.
http://thinkprogress.org/wonkroom/2008/05/02/dow-dioxin-scandals/
Source:
Brad
Johnson
Research Associate
Center for American
Progress
1333 H Street, NW Fl 10
Washington, DC 20005
(202) 682 1611 x358
bjohnson@americanprogress.org
05/03/08 Lone Tree / TRW
Dioxin update
The politicization of Dow Chemical's
dioxin contamination needs a thorough vetting at all levels of government. Gade's
firing is right on the heels of a senate committee which is reviewing a
report that says the Bush administration is hampering the ability of
Environmental Protection Agency scientists to assess the health dangers of
toxic chemicals.
|
Senate Hearings to be held next week on
firing of Region V Administrator |
|
DETROIT NEWS:
Dingell to probe why EPA official
leaving job
|
|
WALL STREET JOURNAL:
EPA Regional Chief Resigns After Dispute
"She
declined to specify what she and her superiors had disagreed about
but added that ordinary citizens "should be concerned" because "this
may be some of the worst dioxin contamination" in the U.S."
| |
