July 26 th 2007 # 97
Photos of Reach D contamination
The link below will take you to great photos of the work being done to remove highly contaminated sediments from the Tittabawassee River in Midland County.
https://www.epaosc.net/tittabawasseeDioxinReachD
Responding to the absurd Saginaw News Editorial ( 7/5/05) which alleged that DEQ gave no direction or guidance to Dow on their work plans, Director Chester defended, rightfully so, the hard work of his staff to provide guidance and insist on substantive meaningful work plans from Dow. You can read the director’s comments at http://www.mlive.com/saginaw/stories/index.ssf?/base/news-0/1184939434275950.xml&coll=9
Comments on Dow's Delayed, Deficient Work
Gary Henry did a great job of summarizing the multiple issues EPA has with Dow. Go to www.trwnews.net to view the list.
Or go to the TRW web site to view the June 7th 2007 letter from EPA in its entirety delineating their issues and concerns about Dow's inability to produce work plans, etc..,as defined in the corrective action process. There's a nice chart on pages 7 and 8 that provides a quick snap-shot of how delinquent Dow has been for the past four years. We keep hearing how Dow wants to put this issue behind them and move on……….well the best way to do that is for Dow to use their army of regulatory people and scientists and submit work plans that comply with scientific guidelines and the law.
This document also puts front and center a whole host of other chemical’s and compounds found in the Tittabawassee River. EPA also admonishes Dow for omitting certain chemical processes and waste streams, among them Dow’s ubiquitous chlorophenol production. As far back as 1989, Diane Hebert of Midland, MI has begged regulatory agencies to look into Dow’s chlorophenol production and waste stream. Brushed off as anti-Dow and a “tree hugger”, Diane has a great deal more common sense and foresight on this contamination than most!
In and around page 35 this document lists the shortcomings of the U of M EI as well as the lengthy delay in delivering information requested by the State of Michigan early in 2006.
From picking and choosing science, not following established guidelines and failing to provide required documentation, this critique of Dow’s activities is well worth reading. Would love to see an analysis of the cost to the taxpayers as a result of Dow’s folly and delays over the past several years.
1. Extensive sediment sampling will take place yet this year in the middle Tittabawassee River. The sampling will occur south to the State Street Bridge. DEQ has been adamant for sometime that this sampling will occur this summer and it looks like it will. This testing is significant because it moves the testing into Saginaw County and communities where people live and play along the banks of the river.
2. Dow submitted their work plans for the Saginaw River ahead of schedule. Let’s hope the plans meet the necessary criteria and are not found to be deficient like so much of their previous work.
"One of the things I bring with me is those relationships and seeing how things work," the Saginaw native said.
DEQ Dow Public Meeting
Upcoming meeting at the Horizons will take place August 9th. More details soon.
As usual please pass these update along and share them with others.
Best Regards,
Michelle Hurd Riddick
Lone Tree Council
Source: Lone Tree / TRW
For additional articles like this one, go to the Tittabawassee River Watch web site www.trwnews.net. for complete coverage of the Tittabawassee River Dow Chemical dioxin contamination saga.. The source organization's web site link is listed above. The Newspaper / Media page of our site contains an extensive archive of media articles dating back to January 2002. The Newspaper / Media page may be accessed by scrolling down to the bottom of the CONTENTS section and clicking on the Newspaper/Media link.