..and wetlands, 'the law' and money!
DEQ director gets earful on wetlands
You've seen MDEQ in the sand dunes, on the beaches, our rivers... and in all of these cases, our personal, private property! Our taxes put paychecks in their pockets but Michigan Department of Environmental Quality continues to persecute the homeowners... this time in the Sault Ste. Marie area way way up north! You can bet your booties Mr. Chester sings all the way to the bank with our hard-earned dollars as he grins at the homeowner and says... “The law does not prohibit building in wetland areas.” adding his agency issues permits on 90 percent of the requests. “If we can avoid wetland loss, that is our mission. If it's not feasible, then we need to minimize the impact to protect as much as possible while meeting the needs of the land owner.”
Sunday, May 28, 2006
Thursday, May 18, 2006
potpourri - lots of potpourri....
Wednesday, May 10 – Meeting at Horizons – MDEQ/Dow to inform public of current status.
Kathie Marchlewski reported it in Midland Daily News. I don’t really have time to tell you my personal impressions overall but can tell you this: The enviro-extremist groups are becoming increasingly agitated with ‘progress’ because they don’t really want progress. They want Dow to ‘fix’ something that ‘ain’t broke.’ They demanded a great deal of the public comment time at this May 10 meeting. About every third time one of them spoke yet again… I insisted on getting my 2 cents worth in…
The environutz do not care about facts. They are all wrapped up in ‘what-if’s’ and ‘could-be’s.’ They are more concerned about possibilities – not probabilities!
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16621734&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6 Soil tests to begin this summer; dioxin resolution planned for 2017 Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News 05/11/2006
While Dow will be out conducting testing this spring, summer and fall, the sampling program is a preliminary one. Samples will be used for a bioavailability study Dow expects to complete in 2010. From 2009 to 2013, the company is proposing a human health risk assessment and from 2012 to 2014, another round of soil sampling. The work plans suggest that potential remedies would be explored and selected in 2015, with a two-year implementation ending in 2017.
Dow spokesman John Musser. "The things we learn could shorten the cycle -- or make it longer.
---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1147274135295910.xml&coll=4 Dredging spoils site may not be water tight after all. Wednesday, May 10, 2006 By JEREMIAH STETTLER
State regulators alerted Saginaw County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December that the 281-acre disposal site - once presumed to have a thick, impermeable clay bottom - is spotted with sand ''lenses,''
Saginaw County has proposed improvements to the disposal site that should make it water tight.
----------------------------------------------------------http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060513_sn_downumbers.pdf
May 13, 2006
DEQ bases their assumptions and decisions on their ‘fact’ that Tittabawassee River properties contain 1,000 ppt of dioxin. Dow spokesman says all assumptions are exaggerated and averages equal more like half that amount…Above and beyond all that MDEQ assumes we who live here eat lots of bottom-eating fish, turkey skin and deer liver!!! Ugh!
----------------------------------------------------------
May 12, 2006
http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060512_sn_geomorph.pdf
Ann Arbor Technical Services, experts in this technology labeled as ‘geomorphology. Will study and determine deposition and erosion patterns along the Tittabawassee River.
Geomorphology is the interdisciplinary and systematic study of landforms and their landscapes as well as the earth surface processes that create and change them.
One definition can be found here at: http://www.geomorph.org/
----------------------------------------------------------
May 14, 2006
http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060514_dfp_sos.pdf
In case you don’t fully realize the reason we protest about the ‘facility’ tag in our backyards… the ‘Save Our Shoreline’ group has the same problem. That problem is the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The MDEQ has invaded our residential properties and keeps proposing and getting legislation passed to give them more and more control over our homes!
----------------------------------------------------------
May 13, 06
http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060513_mdn_env_encouraged.pdf
Dow spokesman, John Musser responded to the many demanding questions by Miller & Rhidick that Dow might clean up any hotspots they might find during the soil testing processes.
Just a note: I just read an email, written by the Henry’s (primary litigants in the wannabe class action suit against Dow Chemical) indicating that they are very unhappy about the situation… to the extent they propose voting against their environmentally too-friendly governor, Jennifer Granholm!!! No I wasn’t hacking their private email – don’t even know how! It’s available for anybody to read at http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/enviro-mich/last30days/msg19089.html
----------------------------------------------------------
May 16, 06
http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/16-05-2006/80375-dioxin-0
Many foodstuffs pose serious health hazard because of dioxin that burnt Yushchenko's face. I haven’t read this article yet but saved it here for reading later.
###
Kathie Marchlewski reported it in Midland Daily News. I don’t really have time to tell you my personal impressions overall but can tell you this: The enviro-extremist groups are becoming increasingly agitated with ‘progress’ because they don’t really want progress. They want Dow to ‘fix’ something that ‘ain’t broke.’ They demanded a great deal of the public comment time at this May 10 meeting. About every third time one of them spoke yet again… I insisted on getting my 2 cents worth in…
The environutz do not care about facts. They are all wrapped up in ‘what-if’s’ and ‘could-be’s.’ They are more concerned about possibilities – not probabilities!
http://www.ourmidland.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=16621734&BRD=2289&PAG=461&dept_id=472542&rfi=6 Soil tests to begin this summer; dioxin resolution planned for 2017 Kathie Marchlewski, Midland Daily News 05/11/2006
While Dow will be out conducting testing this spring, summer and fall, the sampling program is a preliminary one. Samples will be used for a bioavailability study Dow expects to complete in 2010. From 2009 to 2013, the company is proposing a human health risk assessment and from 2012 to 2014, another round of soil sampling. The work plans suggest that potential remedies would be explored and selected in 2015, with a two-year implementation ending in 2017.
Dow spokesman John Musser. "The things we learn could shorten the cycle -- or make it longer.
---------------------------------------------------------- http://www.mlive.com/news/bctimes/index.ssf?/base/news-7/1147274135295910.xml&coll=4 Dredging spoils site may not be water tight after all. Wednesday, May 10, 2006 By JEREMIAH STETTLER
State regulators alerted Saginaw County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers in December that the 281-acre disposal site - once presumed to have a thick, impermeable clay bottom - is spotted with sand ''lenses,''
Saginaw County has proposed improvements to the disposal site that should make it water tight.
----------------------------------------------------------http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060513_sn_downumbers.pdf
May 13, 2006
DEQ bases their assumptions and decisions on their ‘fact’ that Tittabawassee River properties contain 1,000 ppt of dioxin. Dow spokesman says all assumptions are exaggerated and averages equal more like half that amount…Above and beyond all that MDEQ assumes we who live here eat lots of bottom-eating fish, turkey skin and deer liver!!! Ugh!
----------------------------------------------------------
May 12, 2006
http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060512_sn_geomorph.pdf
Ann Arbor Technical Services, experts in this technology labeled as ‘geomorphology. Will study and determine deposition and erosion patterns along the Tittabawassee River.
Geomorphology is the interdisciplinary and systematic study of landforms and their landscapes as well as the earth surface processes that create and change them.
One definition can be found here at: http://www.geomorph.org/
----------------------------------------------------------
May 14, 2006
http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060514_dfp_sos.pdf
In case you don’t fully realize the reason we protest about the ‘facility’ tag in our backyards… the ‘Save Our Shoreline’ group has the same problem. That problem is the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality. The MDEQ has invaded our residential properties and keeps proposing and getting legislation passed to give them more and more control over our homes!
----------------------------------------------------------
May 13, 06
http://salascove.com/dioxin2/060513_mdn_env_encouraged.pdf
Dow spokesman, John Musser responded to the many demanding questions by Miller & Rhidick that Dow might clean up any hotspots they might find during the soil testing processes.
Just a note: I just read an email, written by the Henry’s (primary litigants in the wannabe class action suit against Dow Chemical) indicating that they are very unhappy about the situation… to the extent they propose voting against their environmentally too-friendly governor, Jennifer Granholm!!! No I wasn’t hacking their private email – don’t even know how! It’s available for anybody to read at http://www.great-lakes.net/lists/enviro-mich/last30days/msg19089.html
----------------------------------------------------------
May 16, 06
http://english.pravda.ru/society/stories/16-05-2006/80375-dioxin-0
Many foodstuffs pose serious health hazard because of dioxin that burnt Yushchenko's face. I haven’t read this article yet but saved it here for reading later.
###
Monday, May 15, 2006
I've got lots to say...
...saved a flock of articles and will share what I saw (and did) at the last MDEQ/Dow townhall meeting. I just need a block of time... and that might happen Tuesday. Stop by tomorrow afternoon for a great big ol' update. ;-)
Monday, May 08, 2006
About that MDEQ/Dow meeting...
..I guess I didn't read the email very well. It didn't include the time. Here it is straight from DEQ's website.
'The Department of Environmental Quality and The Dow Chemical Company will be holding the next quarterly Midland/Saginaw/Bay City (Tri-Cities) Dioxin Community Meeting on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at the Horizon’s Conference Center, 6200 State Street, Saginaw. The meeting is open to the public and will run from 6:30 to 9:00 p.m. Staff from the DEQ, Department of Community Health, U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Dow, and their consultants, will be available one-half hour before and after the meeting for individual discussion with the public.'
Sunday, May 07, 2006
Aspartame Safety Confirmed—Again
By Ruth Kava, Ph.D., R.D. - Darn!!! and just when I've stocked up on that new no-calorie sugar product!
...why should this fact be related to parts per trillion of dioxin? Well duh! Where's the big epidemic of dioxin-related illness along the Tittabawassee River floodplain... or the Saginaw River... or even in the city of Midland?
Speaking of dioxin in our backyards... in case you're interested, here's a missive from MDEQ:
...why should this fact be related to parts per trillion of dioxin? Well duh! Where's the big epidemic of dioxin-related illness along the Tittabawassee River floodplain... or the Saginaw River... or even in the city of Midland?
Speaking of dioxin in our backyards... in case you're interested, here's a missive from MDEQ:
Announcement of May 10 DEQ/Dow Tri-Cities Dioxin Community Meeting
May 5, 2006
The Department of Environmental Quality and The Dow Chemical Company are hosting the next quarterly Midland/Saginaw/Bay City (Tri-Cities) Dioxin Community Meeting on Wednesday, May 10, 2006, at the Horizons Conference Center, 6200 State Street, Saginaw. This meeting is open to the public. The press release and agenda for the meeting are available at:
http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135--142116--,00.html
and
http://www.deq.state.mi.us/documents/deq-whm-05-10-06CommunityMeetingAgenda.pdf
Supporting materials to be discussed at the meeting are available at the following locations:
http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3304_21234-115743--,00.html
and
http://www.michigan.gov/deq/0,1607,7-135-3312_4118_4240-53424--,00.html
This meeting has also been announced in the local newspapers. Please share this notice with others who might be interested in attending this meeting. If you should have any questions, please contact me.
Cheryl Howe
Environmental Engineering Specialist
Hazardous Waste Management Unit
Hazardous Waste Section
517-373-9881/517-373-4797 Fax
Waste and Hazardous Materials Division Michigan Department of Environmental Quality P.O. Box 30241, Lansing, MI 48909-7741
Wednesday, May 03, 2006
What Do Beaches Have in Common with our Dioxin/Facility Problem?
This photo shows the 'beach' at Bay City State Park... February 2005. I'm guessing the big red pole was put there to show snowmobilers where they could find a trail out to the Saginaw Bay. All of that standing vegetation covers what I would guess should be the beach.
Summertime 2004 - I was just really becoming immersed in the dioxin controversy along the Tittabawassee River floodplain. Having tolerated floods in my backyard for the past 45 years, I never thought of our annual cleanup efforts as being hazardous to our health. Frank & I took a photo break with a visit to the Bay City waterfront and Bay City State Park. What we saw was desolate as you will see in my little online photo album titled 'Beach' - be sure to read the accompanying commentary... it tells a sad story.
Incidentally... on our way back to the truck I photographed this sign. I guess if I was a 'real' photographer I would have photographed the trash lying about the base of this sign... but my disgust would not allow that artistic endeavor. There at the base, as if to make a statement, was a beer bottle along with a wine cooler bottle, cigarette butts and what appeared to be a used condom! I guess it only accentuated the photos I actually took - of Mother Nature's trash - those undesirable weeds that get deposited along the shoreline where the MDEQ no longer allows us to clean up our beaches.
There was a meeting yesterday evening... in Bay City... the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was there to tell property owners along the shoreline what they can and cannot do on their own residential properties. MDEQ has already invaded our property along the river... testing a few isolated areas and then telling all of us that our property was contaminated and therefore named each and every property along the Tittabawassee River floodplain a 'facility.'
While our President encourages us to own our own homes... to own our own businesses, the Michigan bureaucracy is doing their utmost to take away individual property rights. In mid-2004 Steve Chester, director of MDEQ, told TRVoice and Midland Matters that we must change the legislation in order to remove the label 'facility' from our private property.
We did that!!! HB-4617/SB-390 (the Homeowner's Fairness Act) was passed by the House of Representatives. It was passed by the Senate. The bill went to Jenny Granholm's desk. She listened to the buzzing in her ears from a small group of enviro-wackos, including Stevey Chester. She went against the wishes of the majority of Michigan voters and vetoed HB-4617/SB-390! Right now there are three separate bills running through the House & the Senate... meant to protect homeowners from bureaucrats invading our residential properties. A few environutz oppose these bills as well.
What can we do? We can contact our Michigan lawmakers and tell them we support their efforts. We can contact Ms. Granholm and tell her we support legislation to protect homeowners from the MDEQ and their ilk.
Find your Senator
Find your Representative
Contact Jennifer Granholm, current governor of Michigan
What I saw at the MDEQ meeting in Bay City last night:
Summertime 2004 - I was just really becoming immersed in the dioxin controversy along the Tittabawassee River floodplain. Having tolerated floods in my backyard for the past 45 years, I never thought of our annual cleanup efforts as being hazardous to our health. Frank & I took a photo break with a visit to the Bay City waterfront and Bay City State Park. What we saw was desolate as you will see in my little online photo album titled 'Beach' - be sure to read the accompanying commentary... it tells a sad story.
Incidentally... on our way back to the truck I photographed this sign. I guess if I was a 'real' photographer I would have photographed the trash lying about the base of this sign... but my disgust would not allow that artistic endeavor. There at the base, as if to make a statement, was a beer bottle along with a wine cooler bottle, cigarette butts and what appeared to be a used condom! I guess it only accentuated the photos I actually took - of Mother Nature's trash - those undesirable weeds that get deposited along the shoreline where the MDEQ no longer allows us to clean up our beaches.
There was a meeting yesterday evening... in Bay City... the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality was there to tell property owners along the shoreline what they can and cannot do on their own residential properties. MDEQ has already invaded our property along the river... testing a few isolated areas and then telling all of us that our property was contaminated and therefore named each and every property along the Tittabawassee River floodplain a 'facility.'
While our President encourages us to own our own homes... to own our own businesses, the Michigan bureaucracy is doing their utmost to take away individual property rights. In mid-2004 Steve Chester, director of MDEQ, told TRVoice and Midland Matters that we must change the legislation in order to remove the label 'facility' from our private property.
We did that!!! HB-4617/SB-390 (the Homeowner's Fairness Act) was passed by the House of Representatives. It was passed by the Senate. The bill went to Jenny Granholm's desk. She listened to the buzzing in her ears from a small group of enviro-wackos, including Stevey Chester. She went against the wishes of the majority of Michigan voters and vetoed HB-4617/SB-390! Right now there are three separate bills running through the House & the Senate... meant to protect homeowners from bureaucrats invading our residential properties. A few environutz oppose these bills as well.
What can we do? We can contact our Michigan lawmakers and tell them we support their efforts. We can contact Ms. Granholm and tell her we support legislation to protect homeowners from the MDEQ and their ilk.
Find your Senator
Find your Representative
Contact Jennifer Granholm, current governor of Michigan
What I saw at the MDEQ meeting in Bay City last night:
- Hundreds of angry homeowners who are being told they need to get permission to mow their yards from bureaucrats who have never seen their property .
- Hundreds of angry homeowners who do not want to tolerate the stink from decaying vegetation if they do not mow their yards.
- Hundreds of angry homeowners who resent a bureaucratic agency of the Michigan state government telling them what they can and cannot do in their own residential property.
- Hundreds of angry homeowners just like you and me!
- I learned about a dedicated organization that truly cares about Michigan beaches... S.O.S. (Save Our Shoreline). You don't have to own private beachfront property to be a member... just join. Help these folks save our beautiful (and formerly beautiful) Michigan beaches!
- I heard that MDEQ claims there are only two beaches in Michigan!!!! Then I heard the MDEQ definition of a beach. It fit none of these definitions I found on the internet.
- Today I found this MDEQ list of Michigan beaches - which contradicts the statement by MDEQ individuals mentioned above.
If you are interested in listening to more MDEQ drivel, there is another 'town hall' dioxin meeting scheduled for next week, Thursday, May 10.
...and just an interesting data point: Ms. Granholm has just announced her plans for a third trip to Japan in order to create jobs in Michigan. This plan after the announcement that the Michigan jobless rate increased by two more points in March - up to 6.8%!!! How many more trips can she squeeze in while she's still traveling on taxpayer money?
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