Protect our Great Lakes

Sign the petition to restore Michigan's largest watershed and defend Lake Huron

Shiawassee National Wildlife Refuge, located in the Saginaw Bay Watershed

The Saginaw Bay is the largest watershed in Michigan. More than 50 miles of its rivers that empty into Lake Huron are threatened by dioxin and other highly hazardous chemicals. Federal and state laws require Dow Chemical Company, the responsible party, to clean up the contamination. However, pressure to resolve this issue behind closed doors is mounting. Public participation in an open transparent process is the best way to assure cleanup will be comprehensive and will restore the region to health. Learn more.

Preserving and protecting the Great Lakes is the public trust responsibility of every elected representative. The Great Lakes region, its ecosystems, its economy and future generations also depend on citizens acting to protect our water resources. Please sign the petition below urging a comprehensive cleanup and an open, transparent public process in addressing this ongoing threat to Lake Huron.

Dear Governor Granholm, Senators Levin and Stabenow, Federal and State Representatives, 

It is the duty of elected state lawmakers to uphold the public trust and protect and restore the Great Lakes to health.  Our economy, our public health, and our future depend on the exercise of this solemn obligation. 

We believe the goal of a comprehensive cleanup must be to restore the full economic development potential of the region, to restore the health of the watershed and of the food web, and to reduce the level of dioxin in the bodies of residents, particularly the most highly exposed and the most vulnerable.

The undersigned urge our elected representatives and regulatory agencies to hold the Dow Chemical Company accountable to the highest standards for cleanup, to be transparent at all times, to engage all stakeholders in cleanup decisions as this proceeds, and to enforce aggressive timelines for restoration.

Signed:

Optional Member Code

First Name		*
Last Name		*
Email		*
Street
City
State/Region		*
Zip/Postal Code		*

Optional Member Code

Comments

Optional Member Code

Please remember my info

*Required Fields

Letter Supported by:

Michigan Coalition on the Environment and Jewish Life, Nuclear Information and Resource Service (Maryland), Citizens Environment Alliance (Windsor), Don't Waste Michigan, Lone Tree Council, Sierra Club Michigan Chapter, Clean Water Action Michigan, Great Lakes Natural Resource Center National Wildlife Federation, Michigan League of Conservation Voters, Dominican Sisters of Hope, New York, Mercy Investment Program, U.S., Sisters of Mercy, Regional Community of Detroit, Michigan, Ursuline Sisters of Tildonk-U.S. Province, New York, Citizens for Alternatives to Chemical Contamination, Trillium Asset Management Corporation, Michigan Environmental Council, Sisters of St Joseph of Carondelet, CATS (Residents on the Saginaw River), Huron Environmental Activist League (HEAL), Tittabawassee River Watch. Congregation of St. Joseph, Office of Peace and Justice, Ecology Center, National Environmental Law Center, Environment Michigan

Background:

Important Fishing Information: Fish Consumption Advisories for the Saginaw River from the City of Saginaw to Saginaw Bay are in effect because of Dioxins and PCBs

Saginaw Bay is the largest watershed in Michigan. The watershed encompasses 8,700 acres and 240 miles of shoreline. The resource provides 27 million gallons of water daily for 1.4 million residents, and one million people visit its state parks every year. Tens of millions of dollars are generated by recreational fishing, and commercial fisheries contribute another $5 million to the region annually. Viable fishing and recreational opportunities and the health of Lake Huron are critically linked to the health of the Saginaw Bay watershed.

It has been seven years since the discovery of 8,000 ppt of dioxin in the sediment of the Tittabawassee River -- 80 times the level considered safe for residential areas by the State of Michigan. The highest level of dioxin ever measured in the environment was found just thirty miles up river from Lake Huron. Sediment sampling shows hydraulic forces continue to push dioxin-laden sediments to Lake Huron. Government agencies have determined Dow Chemical is the primary source of dioxins to the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers, and those rivers are the primary source of dioxin to Lake Huron. The contamination extends over 50 miles from Dow's headquarters to the Saginaw Bay, defining one of the largest contamination sites in the country.

Dioxin is widely acknowledged to be toxic to humans and wildlife even at levels as low as in the parts per trillion range. Many people and wildlife in the region have elevated levels of dioxin in their bodies. The contamination has led to extremely restrictive consumption advisories for both fish and wild game. Thousands of acres of floodplain, parks, homes, yards as well as a wildlife refuge and habitat are contaminated.

Dow is legally obligated under both federal RCRA and CERCLA statutes, and under state law, to clean up the contamination. The state and federal governments are legally obligated to require Dow to clean up. The timeline and the adequacy of that cleanup should be determined, as the law requires, through an open, transparent and public process.

Dow signed a Resource Conservation and Recovery Act Operating License with the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ) that articulates clearly how activities are to proceed. The company has repeatedly sought to alter those rules, and to negotiate with regulators out of public view. Each time closed door negotiations occurred, progress, our natural resources and our democratic public process suffered for lack of transparency.

Dow has recently sought to again negotiate behind closed doors with the EPA after earlier negotiations broke down. Advocates have urged the Environmental Protection Agency and the MDEQ to work closely together to advance the cleanup as the law directs rather than to shut out the public and negotiate a deal.

A good cleanup which provides for public health protection, wildlife and resource restoration and protects Lake Huron is best accomplished by a transparent public process. There are no more legitimate stakeholders in this cleanup than Michigan residents who love these Great Lakes, who hunt, fish, recreate and share the economic benefits and quality of life provided by them.

Back to top