EPA/MDEQ Approve AOC, Continue Enhanced Community Engagement Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River and Bay Site Midland/Saginaw/Bay City Region, Michigan January 2010


SERIV
United States
Environmental Protection
Agency
For more information
You can view documents related lo
I he Tittabawassee Uiver. Saginaw
River & I Jay si I e in informalion
repositories set up by lil'A and
MDIiQ. The repositories are located
in the Grace A. Dow Memorial
Library. 1710 \V. Saint Andrews St..
Midland; the I loyl Main Library. 505
Janes Ave.. Saginaw; and the Alice
and Jack Wirt Public Library. .r>00
Center Ave.. Bay City.
Information office
IDI'A has opened a community
informalion office in the Saginaw
County Courthouse. Ill S.
Michigan Ave.. Saginaw. Or call
989-790-.r>21 n.
On the Web
ICPA dioxin investigation:
h 11p://w\vw.epa.gov/regionfi/si I es/
dowchemical
Michigan dioxin informalion:
h 11p://www. mich igan.gov/deqdiox in
Sign up for the listserv
If you would like lo be e-mailed site
updates, send a blank message lo:
dow dioxin-subscribeC" lisls.epa.gov
Contacts
These EPA community involvement
coordinators can answer questions:
I'ati icia Krausc
.'SI 2-88()-9.r)i)(i
krause.patricia(«'epa.gov
Don dc I'.lasio
312-x8m:h;o
deblasio.donC" epa.gov
Kciiion ."i loll five:
(Soo-(;vi-,s/i:;i. 9:;;o a.m. - 5:.'!')
p.m.. weekdays
At MDEQ contact:
Cheryl llmw
51 7-:!7.">-9v
EPA/MDEQ Approve
AOC, Continue Enhanced
Community Engagement
Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River & Bay Site
Midland/Saginaw/Bay City Region, Michigan
January 2010
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 on Jan. 14, 2010, the agencies have
committed to a number of steps.
This fact sheet describes these commitments and also provides an overview of the
sorts of comments received. The complete AOC and detailed responsiveness summary
are available online and at the site repositories (see the box at left for details).
Enhanced Community Engagement
After reviewing all comments that were submitted during the public comment period,
EPA and MDEQ have determined that many of the recommendations are related
to implementation of work under the settlement agreement, rather than to the
agreement itself. Many of these comments were about how the agencies would work
with and involve the communities on the site. Community involvement activities at
the site will be robust and will go far beyond what is required by law. Therefore the
agencies intend the following:
•	EPA will maintain its Saginaw field office—opened to provide additional service to
the community. The agency expects to move to a more permanent location—with
room to meet with members of the community—in 2010.
•	EPA and MDEQ will work closely with the community advisory group that was
formed to represent all the diverse points of view within the community. EPA will
continue to provide third-party facilitation and administrative support to the CAG.
•	The CAG will take an active role in developing a detailed plan for engaging
the entire community in the Superfund process. EPA is preparing a draft
plan—based on interviews conducted with members of the community—which
it plans to share in March. This plan will evolve over time to reflect changing
community needs.
•	In February, the agencies will begin to work with the CAG to define meeting
topics and schedule technical discussions to solicit community advice and input
related to implementation of the AOC.
•	The CAG will be an active participant in discussions of the progress of the work.
EPA anticipates meeting with the CAG monthly.
•	Technical assistance will be provided to the community through a "technical
assistance plan." 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. Details will be developed as part of the settlement agreement
within the next two months.
•	Although the CAG will be the focus of public participation efforts, EPA and MDEQ
will continue to work with the broader community carrying out the activities set
out in the community involvement plan.

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•	Information on the progress of the work will be made
available on a routine basis, and will be made in plain,
understandable language.
•	Routine updates will be posted to the Web site and
announced through the listserv.
•	Large public meetings—and less formal, small group
meetings—will be scheduled as appropriate, based on
public interest. EPA and MDEQ will use input from the
CAG and other input developed under the community
involvement plan to establish the frequency and types of
meetings.
Background
On Sept. 25. 2009, EPA and MDEQ announced that they had
completed negotiations and reached a proposed settlement
with Dow. As part of the agencies' commitment for greater
transparency and community outreach and participation, the
proposed settlement was released for public comment on Oct.
19, 2009. Dow had already signed the proposed settlement, but
EPA and MDEQ indicated that they would make their decision
on whether to sign the proposed settlement after considering
the comments received from the community. The agencies
held a public meeting on Nov. 5, 2009, to explain the proposed
settlement, answer questions and take public comment. EPA
also provided technical assistance to the community through
its Technical Assistance Services for Communities program.
The public comment period closed on Dec. 17, 2009.
Summary of Public Comments
EPA and MDEQ received comments from more than 60
individuals and groups during the public comment period. The
comments covered a wide-range of topics with the majority of
the comments falling into the following categories:
•	Whether to proceed with the settlement
•	Community involvement
•	General or specific comments on the AOC and statement
of work
•	Dow's role
•	Economic impacts
•	Concerns about specific properties
•	Comments on dioxin
•	Remedy options and cleanup goals
•	National Priorities List status
The vast majority of those submitting comments provided
feedback on whether to proceed with the settlement, and
community involvement. The agencies received a significant
number of comments supporting the settlement agreement.
With respect to community involvement, the comments
ranged from concern over the extension of the public
comment period on the proposed settlement to wanting
more specificity in the settlement agreement on the specific
community involvement activities that would be conducted at
the site.
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