JEREMIAH STETTLER
The Saginaw News

March 2, 2005

The state has unearthed the highest dioxin level yet in mid-Michigan,
officials confirmed Tuesday.

Department of Environmental Quality Deputy Director Jim Sygo said newly
returned samples have revealed a hot spot of 16,000 parts per trillion just
south of the Genesee bridge in downtown Saginaw.

The state standard is 90 parts per trillion.

While details of the results remained sketchy Tuesday, the news gave
Zilwaukee and Frankenlust township residents better footing for protesting a
possible dump site for 3.1 million cubic yards of river sludge.

They say the levels - though upstream of the proposed dredging project -
demonstrate pervasive industrial pollution along the river bottom.

U.S. Army Corps of Engineers samples released last fall showed a peak
concentration of 11,812 parts per trillion near Saginaw Rock Products, 1701
N. First in Saginaw.

That worries Zilwaukee Township Supervisor David Bradt, who spoke against a
dump site Tuesday in a meeting at Saginaw Valley State University with
Saginaw County, DEQ and Corps of Engineers officials.

He fears some of that contamination will come home to roost if Saginaw
County is allowed to develop a 281-acre sludge disposal site on the
Saginaw-Bay county line.

"You can¹t build a fence big enough to keep the birds out", said Bradt, who
lives several hundred yards from the site. "At certain times of the year, my
yard is covered with droppings. I’m concerned about what those birds pick
up."

He said the state cannot possibly protect residents and wildlife from
chemicals such as dioxin, PCBs and mercury in a facility that leaves
hundreds of acres of dredging spoils uncovered. The aftermath, he fears,
will fall on his grandchildren and their children.

"Whatever I can do to protect the next generation, I’m going to do it,"
Bradt said.

DEQ Deputy Director Skip Pruss said his department will not sanction an
environmentally-unfriendly facility. Rather, he said the project will stop
mid-stream if it is found to threaten human or environmental health, even if
the county has purchased the land.

"If at the end of the day we can¹t approve a permit, we won¹t approve it."
he said.

Yet Pruss believes developers are taking steps that will keep the facility
safe.

He said officials will test the underlying clay to ensure that it is thick
enough keep contaminated wastewater from leaching off site. They will
dispose of the most contaminated soil first, allowing a layer of cleaner
silt on top. They will wrap a fence around the spoils to discourage wildlife
from crossing the site.

Pruss believes the project ultimately will improve the watershed.

"We believe it is better to segregate, put in one place and manage these
sediments (in a disposal facility)," he said. "We are confident that over
time, the ecology of the Saginaw River is going to get cleaner as a result
of this process."

But some residents wonder if the state really could stop the process, or if
the momentum would force the project onward despite environmental concerns.

"My fear is that it is going to be rammed through whether it meets the
standards or not," challenged one resident, who refused to give his name.

DEQ officials issued a permit last week that allows Saginaw County to
develop the dump site. While the county still must acquire the land, the
permit allows it to excavate nearly 261,000 cubic yards of soil and
construct a 281-acre dump site.

The county also is awaiting a discharge permit to regulate water quality.
Public Works Commissioner James A. Koski expects approval within the month.
Koski said he now is negotiating with property owners to obtain the land. He
told residents Tuesday that he hopes to purchase the site and begin
construction as early as this summer.

Koski said he is willing to condemn land if necessary.

"That is such a big brother (approach)," remarked Zilwaukee resident Mary
Ann Howard, 70, as she exited the meeting. "I would hate to see the law used
that way." V

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