EPA announces expanded role in cleanup of Dow dioxin contamination

The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency will take over from the state government the primary responsibility for pursuing cleanup of dioxin contamination in the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay, according to a letter released today by agency director Lisa Jackson.

Jackson pledged that EPA’s work on the dioxin cleanup will involve an “unprecedented degree of transparency.”

In March, Jackson froze EPA’s cleanup negotiations with Dow and sent a delegation of officials from EPA headquarters to Michigan to meet with stakeholder groups and reassess the agency’s dealings with Dow Chemical. The visit was a response to outcry from local citizens, environmental groups and public employees who warned that negotiations begun between EPA and Dow in the final days of the Bush administration could allow the company to avoid cleaning up toxic contamination that stretches from Midland into Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay.

Jackson stated:

I agree with community members who believe that this contamination is a threat to public health in the communities in the area, to the vibrancy and diversity of the ecosystem, and to economic development in Northeastern Michigan, a state hard-hit by the ongoing recession. Addressing the contamination and protecting health and the environment is one of EPA’s highest priorities.

Jackson went on to state that she expects Dow Chemical to pay for the dioxin cleanup and that EPA would reserve the right to place the dioxin contaminated region on the Superfund list and bill Dow for the cleanup should the company fail to cooperate with EPA orders.

She also announced that the agency’s long-delayed reassessment of the toxicity of dioxin would be released in its final form by the end of 2010.