Arguably the most contaminated region of the Great Lakes is the Saginaw Bay and tributary waters and adjacent lands. For 30 years now, Michigan state government has ineffectively fumbled with the party responsible for much of the contamination, Dow Chemical Company, to get a cleanup going. Today's announcement by the Obama EPA of its approach to this massive problem is heartening -- although government officials have been promising transparency and not delivering it for quite some time. Give EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson credit for making the first step in the right direction. The 30-year journey, however, undoubtedly has a long way yet to go.
Statement of the Lone Tree Council and the Ecology Center
on today's announcement by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson related to a
plan to address the dioxin contaminated watershed in the Saginaw Bay.
Our groups are cautiously optimistic based on the commitments made in the letter released today by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Our groups are particularly cheered to hear that transparency will be a pillar principle for the Agency moving forward. We are also heartened that the Administration has again committed to a timely completion of the dioxin reassessment and interim cleanup numbers for the site. We also believe the intention to create timelines and benchmarks will be critical to achieving a timely cleanup, and we look forward to participating in that process. The plan released today is an outline and we will continue to evaluate it as the details unfold. We look forward to the June 17 meeting in which more details will be made available. This will allow us to more fully evaluate the plan. While optimistic, we remain guarded given the history of this site.
Statement of the Lone Tree Council and the Ecology Center
on today's announcement by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson related to a plan to address the dioxin contaminated watershed in the Saginaw Bay.
Our groups are cautiously optimistic based on the commitments made in the letter released today by EPA Administrator Lisa Jackson. Our groups are particularly cheered to hear that transparency will be a pillar principle for the Agency moving forward. We are also heartened that the Administration has again committed to a timely completion of the dioxin reassessment and interim cleanup numbers for the site. We also believe the intention to create timelines and benchmarks will be critical to achieving a timely cleanup, and we look forward to participating in that process. The plan released today is an outline and we will continue to evaluate it as the details unfold. We look forward to the June 17 meeting in which more details will be made available. This will allow us to more fully evaluate the plan. While optimistic, we remain guarded given the history of this site.
We will hold the EPA's feet to the fire on the principles they articulated for the site. 1) expeditious with clear milestones and goals, 2) protective of health and the environment (for humans, wildlife and aquatic life), and 3) transparent in its process.
As we have previously communicated to EPA, we believe the following need to be the immediate priorities for the Agency. Some of these priorities have been addressed in the announcement, while others require more discussion.
* Immediately commit to open up negotiations on this site to concerned residents and environmentalists.
* Immediately address the concerns of residents living in highly contaminated areas whose daily exposure to dioxin threatens their health and the health of their children
* Immediately support ongoing state efforts, and launch additional efforts to inform subsistence anglers and sports people of the dangers of consumption of some fish and wild game. These exposures represent an immediate public health threat
* Appoint a local ombudsman for the cleanup to help residents cope with the many challenges of living in a contaminated area
* Respond to the mischaracterization of the science of dioxin, the threat posed by the contamination, and the role of government agencies in addressing the cleanup
* Commission a study of potential economic benefits to the region from a robust cleanup
* End the practice of co-hosting community information meetings with Dow Chemical, allowing the company to dictate the content of the meetings
* Update the EPA’s outdated dioxin soil standard which we believe is not scientifically defensible. Support Michigan’s 90 ppt residential cleanup guidance, as supported in the OSWER directive.
* Address the deficiencies and misuse of the University of Michigan Dioxin Exposure Investigation
The history of this site has been one of regulatory inaction, and aggressive tactics by Dow Chemical to deny and delay, seeding controversy and confusion. The company’s efforts in this regard rival the most controversial cleanups in the nation’s history. It has been eight years since the extent of the contamination has been known, and it has been more than thirty years since dioxin contamination in the watershed was documented. Although the site would outscore most sites on the National Priorities List (NPL), the site has thus far escaped NPL listing. Although the site contains some of the highest levels of dioxin ever measured, there have been only a few limited soil and sediment removals to date.
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