TRW Archives 2010 01/01/10 - 12/31/10 12/31/10 Another year goes by
As we come to the close of another year, sadly, there
is no real progress to report on the clean-up of Dow Chemical's massive dioxin
contamination of the Tittabawassee River/Saginaw Bay watershed. After
EPA's
spring of 2009 promise to our community to expedite a clean-up, and for
the completion of their dioxin reassessment by the end of 2010, they have
delivered on neither promise. Tittabawassee River residents continue to be
exposed to one of the most toxic substances in their own homes, despite requests
for relocation.
The EPA's results of the second round of municipal water supply testing for the
Great Lakes Bay Region promised to be delivered last summer is still MIA.
The EPA's Community Advisory Group has essentially
ceased functioning due to the action of Dow's Chamber of Commerce puppets.
The class action lawsuit filed by the residents
most affected by the contamination in 2003 sits in limbo, with no movement by
the courts since August of 2009. The case has still not been granted class
action status.
We can only hope for accountability from our government in 2011, but I wouldn't
hold your breath.
10/31/10
New dioxin rules might force more cleanups
Snippets from the The Associated Press
MIDLAND, Mich. — The
government has spent many millions of dollars in recent decades cleaning up
sites contaminated with dioxin and, in extreme cases, relocating residents
of entire neighborhoods tainted by the toxin.
But tough new
pollution standards proposed by the Obama administration could require
additional dioxin cleanups at scores of abandoned factories, military bases,
landfills and other locations declared safe years ago, officials say.
If the
guidelines receive final approval, federal and state officials will examine
sites with known dioxin contamination to identify those needing work and
what the work will cost. Among those expected to be reviewed are notorious
places such as the former village of Times Beach, Mo., where about 2,000
people were relocated in the 1980s after dioxin-laced waste oil was sprayed
on roads to control dust.
The Environmental Protection
Agency plan has escalated a decades-long debate over the danger of dioxin, a
family of chemical byproducts from industries such as pesticide and
herbicide production, waste incineration and smelting. One form of dioxin
was in Agent Orange, the defoliant used by U.S. forces during the Vietnam
War.
The EPA is expected to make a
final decision this fall on the new standards. But congressional critics and
chemical companies say the agency is acting hastily and should wait until it
completes a reassessment of dioxin's health effects in the coming months.
...
The debate is playing out along the Tittabawassee and
Saginaw rivers in Michigan, where sediments and floodplains were polluted
last century with dioxin from a Dow plant in Midland.
The company acknowledges responsibility but has argued
with regulators over what cleanup is necessary. ...
Spokeswoman Mary Draves declined comment on the proposed
standards and said the company wouldn't speculate on how they might affect
the cleanup. ...
"Signs along the rivers warn anglers to limit consumption
of their catch because of dioxin and other contaminants. Even so, the
village of Freeland holds a yearly walleye fishing tournament."
"The dioxin is real, it's pervasive, it's toxic," said
Michelle Hurd Riddick, a member of a local environmental group called the
Lone Tree Council. "But some people just want to look the other way."
08/28/10
Garabrant challenged on links to Junk Science
in court
Snippets From the Madison Record:
An epidemiologist testifying for 3M in a Madison County benzene trial
told jurors Thursday that studies indicate that benzene does not cause the
type of cancer at issue in plaintiff Veto Kleinaitis's case.
Dr. David Garabrant, an epidemiologist from the University of Michigan at
Ann Arbor, testified Thursday morning that there is no link between benzene
exposures and developing mantle cell lymphoma (MCL) or other Non-Hodgkin's
lymphomas (NHL). ....
Plaintiff's attorney William Kohlburn spent much of the early part of his
cross examination of Garabrant attacking his work for other chemical
producers and defendants.
"So, lately a great deal of the money you make testifying that things don't
hurt people comes from the companies that make those things?" Kohlburn
asked. ...
Kohlburn questioned Garabrant at length about his studies of Dioxin that
were funded by Dow Chemical Company ....
At the July 19th EPA public meeting, EPA was
asked about the ongoing failure to place sediments traps
in the river system to mitigate the migration of
contaminated sediments to Saginaw Bay. EPA stated the
delay is because the agency does not want to do it
wrong. There is no doubt the sentiment is true even if
it is a red herring.
EPA Superfund division took over
on this site early this year but it is a disservice to
many people to ignore the facts, issues and efforts of
the past several years to make the traps a reality. EPA
Superfund does not have a clean slate on which a new
narrative can be written. The past several years matter.
Significant time, taxpayer’s money, resources and effort
have been expended on these traps. Had this issue been
pursued on its merit, absent the politics, we would not
be having this conversation today
Enbridge recently offered to buy out homeowners of the 30 mile
section of river affected by their massive oil spill near Kalamazoo.
BP appears to be stepping up to the plate over
their massive oil spill in the Gulf.
Over the course of the last 10 years,
Tittabawassee River floodplain residents have repeatedly asked Dow to buy
their homes or remove their massive dioxin contamination.
Instead of dong the right thing, Dow continues to
spends millions on PR and obstructing clean up efforts despite public health
warnings to floodplain residents not to let children play in their own
yards.
It's just sickening how some of our residents have
been treated by Dow, with no support from elected officials and
our community "leaders" in the Great Lakes Bay Region.
Other communities seem to have good corporate citizens and leaders. We
are sorely lacking here.
TRW
07/16/10
EPA unlikely to meet December 2010 dioxin
reassessment deadline
EPA is urging a Science Advisory Board (SAB) panel
reviewing the agency's re-assessment of dioxin to focus on the
core risk assessment document, not related risk and regulatory
documents, saying the agency has been working on the measure for
decades and is “really unlikely” to meet Administrator Lisa
Jackson's December 2010 deadline for completing the measure.
Peter Preuss, director of EPA's National Center for
Environmental Assessment, urged the panel in July 13 comments to
help agency staff quickly complete the long-delayed assessment,
by focusing on recommendations the agency could complete in a
reasonable amount of time.
“Our goal is simple. We’d like to finish this document,” Preuss
said. “Twenty-one years ought to be enough gestation time to
finish just about anything. ...
But a speedy panel review may be unlikely as the agency's draft
document is already drawing significant concerns from industry
and others. ...
Jackson in a
May 2009 letter to community
activists said the agency’s “goal is to issue a final dioxin
assessment by the end of 2010." But Preuss, who oversees the
center that crafts assessments for the agency’s key Integrated
Risk Information System (IRIS) database, told the SAB panel that
the agency “is really unlikely” to meet Jackson's goal “unless
SAB sends a one-page letter” saying that the dioxin document
does not require any changes. ...
07/16/10
EPA Informational Meeting July 19
Informational Meeting about the
Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River & Bay Site: 7 p.m., Monday, July 19,
07/02/10
Need a dioxin refresher course? Listen to Dr.
Birnbaum's "Dioxin, Are We At Risk?" presentation
70 minutes of audio and slides of
Dr. Linda
Birnbaum's presentation during the "Toxic Chemicals in the Great Lakes
Basin" seminar in December 2001. Almost 10 years later it's just as
relevant as it was then. Dr. Birnbaum, formerly the EPA's Director of
Human Studies Division National Health & Environmental Effects Research Lab, is
a world renowned expert on the human health effects of dioxin.
Excerpt from segment 1:
"Dioxin has been called one of the most dangerous chemicals ever known.
Purging uncertainties and clarifying myths about dioxin, Dr. Birnbaum will
discuss dioxin in generalwhere
it comes from, how we interact with itand
specifically, its staggering impact on human health. She will also talk about
dioxin effects in the Great Lakes.
" LocalMotion
Click here to begin.
(each page downloads a mp3 audio file, give it a few seconds to load)
06/27/10
Circuit Court denies Dow's request for
discovery and an evidentiary hearing
In November of
2009, Dow Chemical filed a
motion to disqualify the clerk assigned to retired, visiting Judge
Leopold Borrello for the Tittabawassee River /Dow dioxin class action
case. Dow claimed that because that clerk normally works for a
different Saginaw Judge who is a potential member of the class, this
clerk could be bias to the case.
To avoid
any appearance of impropriety, a new clerk was assigned to assist
Borrello in the case. On June 22, 2010, the Judge
issued
a new order once again denying Dow additional discovery and oral
arguments in the case. We are hopeful that he will soon issue his
opinion on issues brought forward by the Michigan Supreme Court in July,
2009, so that this case can receive it's class action status for the
second time, and finally move forward once and for all.
Henry vs.
Dow Chemical is already in it's 8th year of litigation, with no relief
from exposure for the residents who continue to live on grossly
contaminated properties created by Dow
06/22/10
Dow & their shill dominates Tittabawassee
Rivers Contamination Community Advisory Group Meeting June 21
TRW stopped in last night on the latest and greatest Dow
dioxin community involvement group meeting, this latest one lead by the
US EPA. This is the 3rd or 4th such community groups to form
over the years, formerly headed by the
Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. Past community
groups were never to Dow Chemical's liking however, so the processes
were scrapped, only to emerge most recently from
the EPA as probably the biggest dog and pony show of all.
Only 23 residents are allowed to be in this EPA community group, and
others in the community are not allowed to comment until the last 15
minutes of a 3 hour meeting. If you raise your hand, they will
just ignore you. Yet, the public is "welcome to attend".
The problem TRW sees with this plan is the apparent domination of the
meeting by Annette Rummel, CEO of the Great Lakes Bay Region Convention
and Visitor Bureau.
The stuff coming out of Ms. Rummel's mouth last night was pure Dow
and American Chlorine Chemistry Council's propaganda: Her theme? Dioxin
is not a problem, It's not toxic, and Only causes Chloracne.
Dow must actually have a class for shills such as Rummel to attend in
preparation for public meetings because she continues to recite the Dow
mantra at every one. Worse yet, you have a room full of
other residents who haven't really a clue and just seem to sit and soak
it all in. The EPA and the MDNRE staff rarely challenge what this
member is saying. In this meeting the best the EPA could offer was
"we want to prevent problems dioxin mightcause before they happen". Nothing more.
Dow Chemical is also allowed to give presentations at each meeting TRW
has attended. These presentations to date are just a rehashing
what was done under Emergency Orders by the former EPA
administrator, Mary Gade, until Washington
EPA
fired her for making Dow Chemical actually clean up a couple of the
thousands of hot spots here.
Better yet, this community advisory member appears to have more concern
over commercial development than her own community's health risks from
the exposure to Dow's dioxin. Perhaps a play date with BP's Tony
Hayworth is in order to refine her tactic's. Dow Chemical has been
denying poisoning their own home town for decades and Rummel continues
to push their agenda. BP at least acknowledges their
responsibility for their disaster, apparently Dow never will.
Are we getting the picture here
as to who's running the show?
Very sad indeed.
06/17/10
Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination
Community Advisory Group Meeting June 21
The next meeting of the Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination Community
Advisory Group will be 6-9 p.m., Monday, June 21, at Saginaw Valley State
University, Regional Education Center, Room ES 202, 7400 Bay Road, Saginaw.
The CAG meets monthly to discuss issues related to the Superfund site and its
cleanup. These meetings are open to the public and are held on the third Monday
of the month. The community advisory group was established to represent the
interests of the community and to share information and make recommendations to
U. S. Environmental Protection Agency on the cleanup of the rivers and bay.
If you have questions or need special accommodations at the meeting contact:
You may also call Region 5 toll-free at
800-621-8431, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30 p.m., weekdays. More site information is at
www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical .
06/13/10
EPA corrects Saginaw News dredging
misinformation, we question timing of sampling
A recent Saginaw News article published June 10 stated
"Crews are getting ready to
dredge the Saginaw River to make the channel deeper and safer for passing ships"
.
Which leads to the
question: If they are just getting started, why did the June 11 EPA site update
indicate water sample took place in the last week of May?
EPA's response:
"Today I verified
with the US Army Corps of Engineers that dredging started 8 AM Monday, MAY
17, 2010 and it is a 24/7 operation. The US Army Corp Project Engineer I
talked with mentioned that the dredge barge moved in the last couple of days
to a location closer to Bay City, and that is a possible reason why dredging
was reported by the paper to be starting now.
So
the new question: Why not sample Bay City when dredging is near the intake?
Evidently Bay City water testing was performed in late May when dredging was
many miles upstream near Saginaw.
06/11/10
EPA Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River,
Saginaw Bay site update
Technical Assistance
Plan approved -- application period through July 5
EPA has approved Dow's technical assistance plan for the site. This plan
explains how the company will provide technical support resources to a qualified
community group. Dow was required to develop such a plan as part of the January
2010 settlement. The selected group will receive help from an independent
technical advisor to understand complex site issues and to communicate technical
information in an understandable way. Applications from qualified groups are
being taken through July 5. The application can be found as Exhibit A to the
TAP.
* Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River & Bay site technical
assistance plan:
http://bit.ly/axLYlh
* Advertisement run by Dow in local papers to solicit
applications:
http://bit.ly/cSnJCF
Evaluation of high-use properties begins
Continuing to evaluate and address potential exposures on high-use properties
along the rivers is one major activity under the Superfund agreement. The first
phase has begun and you may see teams from EPA, Michigan DNRE and Dow working
along the river evaluating properties. This work will continue in phases through
summer and fall and into next year.
Municipal water sampling
Last year EPA agreed to take water samples from the drinking water systems for
Midland, Saginaw and Bay City in response to some community concerns about the
U.S. Army Corps of Engineers navigational dredging in the Saginaw River. At
issue is whether contaminants stirred up during dredging could move downstream
and affect drinking water.
EPA took samples in 2009 after the Corps of
Engineers finished dredging for the season. The results were below EPA's
standards for drinking water safety. No dioxins or furans were found. EPA agreed
to sample again in 2010 while dredging was underway. This second round of
sampling was completed during the last week of May and results will be available
later this summer.
EPA is testing for for a wide range of chemicals
including dioxins, furans, volatile organics, semi-volatile organics, PCBs,
pesticides and metals.
* Field Sampling Plan for Midland/Saginaw/Bay City Water
Supply:
http://bit.ly/d1F7Qf
* Midland/Saginaw/Bay City Water Supply Sampling Report:
http://bit.ly/9P7w8G
* Midland/Saginaw/Bay City Water Supply Sampling Report
Addendum:
http://bit.ly/dvDaGk
"There’s a class of chemicals called dioxins
that've polluted rivers between Midland and Saginaw Bay. They
cause cancer. The federal government’s made the polluter, Dow
Chemical, promise to clean contaminated soil from the river
bottoms as well as from yards and parks, but at the same time,
the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency never finished a report
on just how toxic dioxins are. This makes some people mad, like
Bob McKellar from Midland. ..."
"Scott Piggot, manager of the
Agricultural Ecology Department at the Michigan Farm Bureau, estimates that
there are around 5,000 acres of cultivated farm and cropland in the
Tittabawassee floodplain.
Several years ago, he said, when state officials issued a warning about
reducing contact with soil, he was contacted by farmers with concerns about
the impact of the pollution on farmland value, but concerns about the
pollution seemed to have died down in recent years.
“[Department of Environmental Quality] had discussed putting out some
documentation saying that farmers should use protective gear, not that
people should not eat product,” he said.
Piggot said that he was unaware of U-M’s recommendation against farming on
dioxin-contaminated soil."
05/21/10
EPA Dioxin Reassessment moving forward after
decades of delay?
WASHINGTON - The U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) has reached a significant milestone toward
the completion of the agency’s dioxin reassessment with the public release of
its draft scientific report, EPA’s Reanalysis of Key Issues Related to Dioxin
Toxicity and Response to NAS Comments.
The draft dioxin report is EPA’s response to key comments and
recommendations made by the National Academy of Sciences on the agency’s draft
dioxin reassessment.
EPA is moving forward with Administrator Lisa P. Jackson’s commitment to
complete the long-awaited dioxin reassessment. This comprehensive human health
and exposure risk assessment on dioxin, one of the most toxic environmental
contaminants, aims to protect the health of the American public. The draft
report will now undergo scientific peer review by independent, external experts
as well as public review and comment.
Oct 2004 EPA released the NAS
External Review Draft of the Dioxin Assessment, in preparation
for the first NAS panel meeting (held 11/22 -23/2004), in Wash., DC.
This is still the most current version of the EPA Dioxin
Assessment.
"A Dow Chemical-funded study conducted by researchers at the University
of Michigan has found that consumption of food grown in the
dioxin-contaminated Tittabawassee floodplain resulted in a toxic burden in
the bodies of some local residents. Elevated levels of the chemical were
detected even in people who stopped eating locally raised beef and
vegetables more than a decade ago"
"In comments filed with the EPA, Dow stated
that the agency has ignored recent scientific studies that demonstrate that
dioxin levels in human blood have declined and that elevated levels of
dioxin in soil do not result in elevated levels of dioxin in blood."
05/12/10
Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination
Community Advisory Group Meeting May 17
The Saginaw-Tittabawassee Rivers Contamination Community Advisory Group meets
monthly to discuss issues related to the Superfund site and its cleanup.
These meetings are open to the public and are held on the third Monday of the
month. The community advisory group was established to represent the interests
of the community and to share information and make recommendations to U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency on the cleanup of the rivers and bay.
The next meeting will begin at 6 p.m., Monday, May 17, at Saginaw Valley State
University, Curtiss Hall, Banquet Room C, 7400 Bay Road, Saginaw. If you have
questions or need special accommodations at the meeting contact:
You may also call Region 5 toll-free at 800-621-8431, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30
p.m..,weekdays. More site information is at
www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical
04/26/10
Study released detailing high furan levels of
Tittabawassee River Resident
The Dow sponsored University of Michigan dioxin
study in the Great Lakes Bay region presents a follow up study that has yet to
be reported to the local communities of Midland, Saginaw, and Bay City.
The findings presented were:
"Consumption of beef and/or vegetables raised on dioxin-contaminated soil may be
an important completed pathway of exposure.
Relevance to Public Health Practice: Animals and crops should not be raised for
human consumption in areas contaminated with dioxins".
To view the report,
click here or visit the
EHP website :
To
date every study has shown that every living creature,
including humans,
are picking up Dow's dioxin contamination into their bodies from living on the
Tittabawassee River flood plain. If this is not compelling enough reason
for the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) to finally do something after 30
years, maybe they should all go
fishing! Great Lakes Bay residents have already been
found to have increased rates of cancer from Dow's dioxin contamination by the
National Institute of Health:
http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2577707/
04/21/10
Video: Dioxin! What Citizens, Workers, and
Policymakers Need to Know
"Linda Birnbaum, who is currently the director of
the National Institute of Environmental Health
Sciences. discusses what dioxin is, how toxic it is, and
whether it causes cancer. Although the interview was conducted
in 2004 when Dr. Birnbaum was head of the EPA Division of
Toxicology, we believe it continues to provide a useful and easy
to understand summary of some of the available evidence against
dioxin. We hope it will be a useful tool for citizens'
campaigns. The video was originally commissioned in 2004 by the
Ecology Center of Ann Arbor and the Public Interest Research
Group In Michigan, but has never been released publicly until
today. Thanks to the Ecology
Center and Dr.
Birnbaum for agreeing to make this public."
04/20/10
Freeland Walleye Festival - Have fun but
watch what you eat
With concern for the Freeland walleye festival coming this last week in
April, Tittabawassee River Watch wants to remind folks about the fish
consumption advisories for the Great Lakes Bay region.
Women of
childbearing age and children under 15 years old should be extra careful to
consider eating
fish in the Great Lakes Bay region of Michigan. This include the
cities of Midland, Saginaw and Bay City.
Dow Chemical in Midland Michigan, the sponsor of this event, has
contaminated the local waterways, parks and floodplains with the highest
levels of dioxin ever recorded in the history of the United States.
Eating the dioxin contaminated fish won't make you sick right away. But
the chemical found in fish can build up in your body and make you very sick
later on. Dioxin can harm your immune
system, reproductive system, brain functions, and increase your risk of
cancer. Children and babies that get too much of these chemicals may develop
physical, mental or behavioral problems that they would not have had
otherwise.
Great Lakes Bay residents have already been found to have increased rates
of cancer from Dow's dioxin contamination by the National Institute of
Health.
We urge the community of Freeland to rebrand their spring festival to
reflect a more public health based, healthy activity like "the mother of all
community garage sales". We also hope the festival no longer donates
the contaminated fish to local community shelters and food banks for the
poor.
04/15/10
Community Advisory Group Meeting April 19 The Tittabawassee River and Saginaw River and Bay community advisory
group meets monthly to discuss issues related to this Superfund site and its
cleanup.
These meetings are open to the public and are held on the third Monday of the
month. The community advisory group was established to represent the interests
of the community and to share information and make recommendations to U. S.
Environmental Protection Agency on the cleanup of the rivers and bay.
The next meeting will begin at 6 p.m., Monday, April 19, at Saginaw Valley State
University, Curtiss Hall, Seminar Room G, 7400 Bay Road, Saginaw. If you have
questions or need special accommodations at the meeting contact:
You may also call Region 5 toll-free at 800-621-8431, 9:30 a.m. to 5:30
p.m.,weekdays. More site information is at
www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical .
04/02/10
TRW public comment submitted to EPA on the
interim dioxin remediation for soil.
Our response to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
(EPA)’s draft cleanup goals for the cancer‐causing chemical dioxin:
On the behalf of many Tittabawassee
River/floodplain residents, residing down stream from the Dow Chemical
Company's Michigan dioxin contamination site, we would like to thank the
US EPA for finally addressing the outdated dioxin remediation levels for
soil.
We welcome the lower 72 ppt interim number,
but feel this level will still not be protective for the residents from
the risk of cancer simply from living in their homes. Lowering the
level to 3.7 ppt or to a similar default background number would be much
more protective.
In this interim, we also urge the US EPA to
consider the residents immediate safety concerns, and open discussion to
enter the residents into a Superfund relocation program. Residents
are currently living with dioxin soil levels sometimes in the tens of
thousands of ppt.
Remediation of the Tittabawassee River and
floodplain is going to take years if not decades. It's
unacceptable and cruel for the agency to expect these residents to "wait
it out" for this extended period of time until something is finally
done. Having a viable responsible party, The Dow Chemical Company,
could help this process by not using tax payer money for this particular
relocation.
Thank you for your consideration and the
opportunity to comment.
Click on link below to view other
comments submitted to the Federal Register
"In October, 2009, 23 scientists from six
countries met at the International Agency for Research on Cancer (IARC) to
reassess the carcinogenicity of several chemical and occupational exposure
circumstances
previously classified as “carcinogenic to humans” (Group 1) and to identify
additional tumour sites and mechanisms of carcinogenesis (table). These
assessments will be published as the sixth and last part of Volume 100 of
the IARC Monograph Evidence for carcinogenicity in humans and for
genotoxicity as the main mechanism of the Group-1 agents assessed."
Of particular interest are their comments on
2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran.
"Like TCDD,
2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran and 3,3′,4,4′,5-pentachlorobiphenyl
(PCB-126) are complete carcinogens in experimental animals, and there is
extensive evidence that they act through the same
AhR-mediated mechanism. The
Working Group classified these two chemicals in Group 1."
And what is one of the major Dow
Chemical contaminants in the Tittabawassee River?
2,3,4,7,8-pentachlorodibenzofuran
A
recent MDCH poster indicates blood levels of this congener is elevated in flood
plain adolescent and adult residents.
02/12/10 Here we go again: EPA puts Dow in
charge of identifying dioxin cleanup areas
What started out as a promising future under
the new EPA administration has turned full circle. At least
the old EPA recognized Dow's persistent delay tactics, below are EPA comments
from from
2006
identifying the risks of letting Dow do the work:
"EPA has concerns with Dow’s past
failures to provide timely corrective action information to MDEQ. Recently,
MDEQ cited Dow for its failure to provide MDEQ information as required by
Dow’s RCRA License. EPA continues to have concerns that Dow may not have
produced all relevant information it possesses concerning the historic
releases of hazardous constituents from its facility. EPA is working with
MDEQ to obtain this additional information."
Comments on decision by Michelle Hurd Riddick
of the Lone Tree Council
Below is today's Michigan Messenger story.
Many residents are disillusioned with EPA for allowing Dow Chemical to take
responsibility to perform the required work along the Tittabawassee River.
The required work under the Administrative Order on Consent is not unlike
the work Dow was required to do but didn't do under RCRA. MDEQ permitted Dow
ample opportunity for a 8 years to do the work in compliance with their RCRA
license. Over the years, EPA heavily criticized Dow (and MDEQ) for failure
to get the job done---then EPA turned around and did the same thing. Yes,
EPA's latest agreement is letting Dow do the work.
During the public comment period on the agreement, residents along the river
and Lone Tree Council requested EPA to do the work, bill Dow for it, and not
permit Dow to create further delays. EPA declined. At a minimum residents
wanted EPA to investigate the extent of the contamination. After all it is
not in Dow's interest to "discover" more dioxin.
Dow signed the agreement in October, signaling to their
surrogates/apologists in the community to support the agreement. Hence, many
comments from the business/chamber crowd and some elected officials insisted
EPA just sign the document without any changes, arguing the need to put the
issue behind the community. These would be the same folks who over the past
eight years never once held Dow accountable or lamented the delays created
by Dow’s deficient, incomplete and late work plans, the company’s legal
challenges or political interference. In the end, EPA obliged, announcing
they signed the agreement unchanged. It didn't matter that the fox was once
again in charge of the hen house.
Nothing negotiated will address exposure of residents living on contaminated
property any time in the foreseeable future.
A few comments of local river floodplain
residents (from MM article link above)
EPA recently set an interim dioxin cleanup
level at 72 parts per trillion. “My property is in the 3,000 range,“ Taylor
said, “We get nothing.” “I am being used as a lever,” he said, “not treated
as a victim.”
Damore said that Dow, which recently announced an uptick in profits, has
failed to act as a good corporate citizen by addressing the company’s
contamination in a timely way. ... “I think the whole 52 miles of
contaminated rivers and lakes, the entire area is the hot spot,“ she said.
“The entire river system has to be cleaned up before this can be resolved.”
...“As I get older I see younger people coming in, I worry about
these little kids that are going back where there is contamination and they
are playing in the ditch.”
02/07/10 Comment period open for major
modification to Dow Hazardous Waste Operating License
Written comments are being
accepted until April 5, 2010 on
a major modification of the hazardous waste management facility operating
license (License) that was issued to The Dow Chemical Company (Dow),
Michigan Operations, Midland Plant, in June 2003 pursuant to Part 111,
Hazardous Waste Management, of the Natural Resources and Environmental
Protection Act, 1994 PA 451, as amended. The License modification is
being proposed to fulfill the requirements of paragraph 47 of the
Administrative Settlement Agreement and Order on Consent for Remedial
Investigation, Feasibility Study and/or Engineering Evaluation and Cost
Analysis, and Response Design, CERCLA Docket No. V-W-10-C-942 (AOC) for the
Tittabawassee River/Saginaw River and Bay “Site.” The AOC was entered
into by the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ, now the
Michigan Department of Natural Resources and Environment [MDNRE]), the U.S.
Environmental Protection Agency (U.S. EPA), and Dow on January 14, 2010,
with an effective date of January 21, 2010.
The
MDNRE will hold a
public hearing on the draft Dow major License modification from 7:00 to 9:00
p.m. on Thursday, March 11, 2010, at Saginaw Valley State University,
Curtiss Hall, Seminar Room G, 7400 Bay Road, Saginaw, Michigan.
Written comments must be submitted by April 5, 2010, to Cheryl Howe at
howec@michigan.gov orthe address below.
If you are
also on the U.S. EPA listserve or the U.S. EPA or MDNRE mailing lists, you
may have received or will receive a similar notice. Please share this
notice with others who might be interested in attending this public hearing
or commenting on the draft major License modification.
If you have any questions, need further information, or would like to have
your e-mail address removed from this distribution list, please contact
me.
Cheryl Howe
Environmental Engineering Specialist
Hazardous Waste Section
Waste and Hazardous Materials Division
Department of Natural Resources and Environment
P.O. Box 30241,
Lansing, MI 48909-7741
517-373-9881
01/23/10 Dow lobbyist pushing it's flawed U of M
dioxin study
The group that represents American chemical
manufacturers wants the U.S. Environmental
Protection Agency to back off criticisms of a Dow
Chemical-funded dioxin exposure study conducted by
researchers at U-M’s school of public health.
The American Chemistry Council (ACC) is a
powerful advocate for chemical manufacturers and
spent nearly $5 million on lobbying in 2009,
according to the Center for Responsive Politics.
Dow Chemical is a member of the ACC. ...
However, in publicly funded reviews of the study,
the Michigan Dept. of Environmental Quality and the
federal EPA found that it did not focus enough on
people who live in the most contaminated areas, it
included no information on how much dioxin children
absorb, and it didn’t focus on people who are
exposed to dioxin in other ways, such as eating fish
from the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers. ...
The agencies have also expressed concerns that
the study was confusing people about the seriousness
of the pollution and the need to ameliorate it. ...
Richard Clapp, professor at the Boston University
School of Public Health, said that the ACC letter
reads like a document filed on behalf of defendants
in a lawsuit. ...
“This is an attempt again by
the industry folks to create
a distraction and require
more review of info by EPA,“
said Stephen Lester, a
scientist with the Center
for Health Environment and
Justice. “They will never be
satisfied with the degree of
review conducted by EPA.”
“That is their pattern of
behavior for nearly 25 years
now. A continual pattern of
behavior to not be satisfied
with anything the agency
does.”
01/23/10 Richard Maltby
publishes his latest book in the Pollution Signature series
TRW appreciates Mr. Matlby's efforts in keeping track of
Dow's contamination of the Tittabawassee River.
This volume, Restoration of the Saginaw
Valley, is the latest in a series of books including the Pollution
Signature,
The Dioxin Story, and Revival of the Tittabawassee, The Aftermath, Restoration of a Failed Ecosystem,The
Aftermath, a supplemental report,Implementation of the Framework
Agreement,
Implementation of the Framework Agreement, Part Two, A Postscript to
Implementation of the Framework Agreement Parts One and Two,
and Community Involvement Plan
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.
01/16/10 EPA decides not to reopen settlement
with Dow after reviewing public comments
"I think it's good to get on with the process of the cleanup," he said.
"It's a bit disappointing they didn't acknowledge some of the concerns the
citizens had and didn't modify the agreement in any way."
From the EPA:
EPA and Michigan Department of Environmental Quality held a 60-day comment
period which ended on Dec. 17, 2009, on the proposed Superfund administrative
order on consent with Dow Chemical Co. and received comments from more than 60
people and organizations. The majority of the comments were supportive, and many
made suggestions on how the agencies should implement the agreement. Because the
comments are primarily related to implementation of work under the settlement
agreement, rather than to the agreement itself, the agencies decided not to
reopen the settlement. Instead, in approving the agreement the agencies have
committed to a number of community involvement activities, detailed in the fact
sheet below. All documents are online at
http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical/ .
01/15/10 EPA and Michigan launch comprehensive
Superfund evaluation of area dioxin contamination
Release date: 01/15/2010
Contact Information: (EPA) Anne Rowan, 312-353-9391,
rowan.anne@epa.gov (EPA) Mick Hans, 312-353-5050, hans.mick@epa.gov (MDEQ)
Robert McCann, 517-373-7917, mccannr@michigan.gov
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
No. 10-OPA004
(CHICAGO - Jan. 15, 2010) Following an extended
public comment period, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency Region 5 and the
state of Michigan have signed an administrative order on consent with Dow
Chemical Co. The agreement outlines a series of steps that will result in a
comprehensive Superfund evaluation of dioxin contamination in the Tittabawassee
River and Saginaw River and Bay and their floodplains. It also requires Dow to
identify cleanup options and to design the remedy that EPA ultimately selects.
"Community involvement has been and will
continue to be a centerpiece of our efforts to comprehensively address the
site," said EPA Assistant Administrator for Solid Waste and Emergency Response
Mathy Stanislaus. "This order reflects Administrator Jackson's commitment to
first review the site status, and then move toward an effective cleanup."
"The order is the result of an incredible
effort by MDEQ and EPA staff who have worked tirelessly to develop the
information necessary to get to this point," said Jim Sygo, Interim Director for
the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. "I am confident that the
progress we have made will continue forward, and real cleanup action will come
soon to this region."
The order signed by the agencies is unchanged
from the draft presented to the community in October 2009. The agreement
includes a detailed responsiveness summary by EPA and MDEQ that addresses, in
categories, the issues raised during the public comment period. Among the
issues: proceeding with cleanup promptly, attention to the concerns of property
owners along the river, potential economic impacts to the region and requests
for more detail on how community input will be considered as the project
proceeds.
The vast majority of the more than 60
individuals or groups who provided comments in writing or at a November public
meeting were supportive. Because many of the comments related to implementation
of work under the settlement, rather than to the agreement itself, EPA and MDEQ
aim to address those concerns with a robust schedule of community involvement
activities.
For 2010, the agencies anticipate an active
role for the community advisory group-including monthly meetings-to discuss
progress on the technical work. The CAG was established in late 2009 with 23
board members. Technical assistance will also be provided through a "technical
assistance plan," or TAP. This TAP will start off with $50,000, with more
funding available as required. The CAG, and other organizations, will be
eligible to apply for the TAP. An open, transparent process will be used to
select a recipient that best represents the community.
On Sept. 25, 2009, EPA and MDEQ announced that
they had completed negotiations and reached a proposed settlement with Dow.
Though Dow had already signed the proposed settlement, the agencies chose to
hold off on approving the agreement until public comments had been considered.
"The agreement spells out tasks and a schedule
that Dow must follow," said Richard Karl, Superfund Director for EPA Region 5,
which includes Michigan. "While the Superfund work proceeds, Dow must also
continue to comply with its Michigan-issued RCRA license."
Highlights of the approved order include:
·Technical activities Dow is
required to complete, including addressing high-use properties along the rivers,
addressing erosion and movement of highly contaminated soil and sediment, and
identifying cleanup options in an upstream-to-downstream fashion.
·How the Superfund process will be
used to meet Dow's investigation and clean-up obligations under its MDEQ RCRA
active facility waste regulations license.
·Legal terms addressing EPA and
MDEQ's site costs, fines Dow may be required to pay in the event of
noncompliance with the agreement and the process for resolving disagreements
among EPA, MDEQ and Dow.
·How the community will be able to
obtain technical assistance.
With the agreement
approved, immediate next steps include establishing a segmented approach to the
Tittabawassee River and filling in data gaps for the first segment, and planning
for how to address high-use properties along the rivers and the erosion of
highly contaminated soil and sediment.
The administrative order on consent and the
responsiveness summary, as well as a plain language fact sheet, will be
available to review at Alice and Jack Wirt Library, 500 Center Ave., Bay City;
Grace A. Dow Memorial Library, 1710 W. St. Andrews St., Midland; and Hoyt Main
Library, 5050 Janes Ave., Saginaw. They will also be posted at
http://www.epa.gov/region5/sites/dowchemical/ . Residents with questions
about the agreement may contact EPA community involvement coordinator Patti
Krause at 800-621-8431, Ext. 69506, or krause.patricia@epa.gov.
See newspaper articles for information dating back to January 2002. Click here
where
it comes from, how we interact with it
