Date: Fri, 27 Oct 2000 16:31:34 +0000
From: "Rebecca Leighton Katers" <cwac@mail.execpc.com>
News release: Oct. 27, 2000
Governor Thompson Undermines Compensation for PCB Damages
(Green Bay, WI) - The Clean Water Action Council today expressed
outrage that Gov. Thompson's DNR is undermining a major compensation
package for PCB damages to fishers, hunters, and other users of
the
Fox River, Green Bay and Lake Michigan.
"Gov. Thompson should be working FOR compensation of the public,
not
against us. He should be working cooperatively with
the federal,
other state, and tribal governments to achieve a unified government
position." stated Rebecca Katers, Executive Director of the Clean
Water Action Council, a non-profit citizen group based in Green
Bay.
"Instead he's endorsing the biased research of corporate consultants
who could undermine the federal case for compensation.
This is
intolerable."
On Wednesday, the federal U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service released
their
long-awaited final document for the "Natural Resources Damage
Assessment" (NRDA), which would require the payment of between $176
and $333 million from the 7 paper companies responsible for the
PCB
contamination --- to cover the costs of wildlife habitat restoration
and enhancement projects in the area, as well as non-point
pollution
control efforts, to make up for PCB damages which cannot be repaired.
This is a damage compensation package, and separate from the
PCB
sediment cleanup plan to be proposed in a few months. The
Service's
reports are online at: http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/nrda/
Such compensation is especially appropriate given that paper industry
lobbying has contributed to more than 25 years of delay following
the
first reports documenting severe PCB contamination.
This delay
allowed thousands of pounds of PCBs to escape the river into Green
Bay
and Lake Michigan, making the pollution impacts much worse, and
many
of the PCBs unrecoverable.
In 1993, Gov. Thompson refused to allow the Wisconsin DNR to join
the
Service in writing a unified Natural Resource Damage Assessment
(NRDA). Instead, the Governor created a government/industry
committee (called the Fox River Coalition) to pursue a "cooperative
approach" to cleaning up the Fox River, with no intention of requiring
additional compensation dollars above and beyond sediment cleanup.
In 1997, the Governor suddenly announced a surprise contract he
had
signed with the 7 paper companies. The contract allowed
the
polluters to pick the consultants to write a separate "state" version
of an NRDA, so long as the polluters paid the costs.
"In 1998, we predicted serious problems would result from this
contract," added Katers. "Now our fears are coming true."
(Visit Clean Water Action Council's website for a 16 page report
about
the Governor's actions on this issue: http://www.cwac.net/nrapreport1toc1.html
The report includes a lengthy description of the various consulting
firms chosen by the
paper companies to write the state NRDA.)
In a letter to the Service dated Sept. 28, 2000, DNR Secretary George
Meyer stated that "we are not able to develop a joint settlement
position [with the Service] anytime soon, if ever."
One key reason
cited in the letter was that the Service was not "acknowledging"
or
incorporating "state work products" (the industry consultant reports)
into the federal NRDA.
Since 1989, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service has made more than
160
attempts in numerous letters, calls and meetings to convince the
state to join with the Service and its co-trustees, according to
a
"Co-trustee Coordination Chronology" prepared by the Service.
In
response, the Governor and his DNR Secretary have been publicly
hostile, protesting federal involvement as a violation of "State's
Rights." (PCBs from Wisconsin affect all of Lake Michigan
and sites
downwind, which is why the State of Michigan Attorney General and
Michigan-based Native American Tribes have joined the U.S. Fish
&
Wildlife Service as co-trustees in the Service's NRDA.)
"We're disturbed that neither the Governor nor DNR Secretary (nor
any
other lead DNR official) came to Wednesday night's public hearing
to
listen to the frustrations of citizens who desperately want to see
justice served by an NRDA. The state is not responsive
to our
concerns," stated Katers.
Consequences of DNR's Duplicate Industry NRDA
1. Endangers the viability of the federal
case in court --- By
endorsing the technical reports and conclusions of industry
consultants in an official "state" NRDA, the Governor lends
unwarranted state credibility to biased information which serves
the
polluters. The polluters may be able to use the state
endorsements
against the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and its co-trustees
in court.
Gov. Thompson's DNR continues to insist that the U.S. Fish
and
Wildlife Service accept these biased reports, or at least incorporate
portions of the biased reports into the federal case, but major
portions of the industry consultants' work are fundamentally
incompatible and irreconcilable with an honest government case.
It
is an outrage that the Gov. Thompson is promoting biased science
which
benefits the polluters and reduces public compensation for damages.
The Service should be commended for resisting this pressure from
the
Governor.
2. Confuses and discourages the public
--- The Governor's and the
DNR's actions create negative publicity about the federal NRDA.
The
DNR's statements to the media make the Service appear unreasonable
and
uncooperative. DNR staff claim they haven't been given the
opportunity to review and comment on numerous preparatory documents
for the federal NRDA, but William Hartwig, Regional Director for
the
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service responds, "It's simply not true.
We've
shared all major portions of the report with the DNR over a period
of
several months." Because the public already finds the NRDA
issue
confusing, the state's negativity further discourages public support
and involvement in the process. In the public's interest,
the
Governor should help bring clarity, support and urgency to the
situation, but instead he is deliberately causing destructive
conflict. This only helps the polluters.
3. Reduces the support of local, state
and federal politicians ---
Every government agency is sensitive to the political climate
surrounding its decisions. The Service is no different.
The
Governor's and DNR's hostility has infected many local, state and
federal politicians from Wisconsin who might otherwise support
compensation for PCB damages, and this seems to have caused the
Service to present a much more limited NRDA than we might have seen
otherwise.
4. Another surprise state/company deal
could violate public trust ---
Gov. Thompson's competing NRDA increases the likelihood that the
Governor will suddenly announce another surprise settlement contract
for far less compensation than the public deserves.
We have DNR
memos which acknowledge that state settlement negotiations are already
underway with Fort James Corporation, even though such negotiations
are premature. No NRDA plans or sediment cleanup plans
have been
finalized yet or undergone public scrutiny. Such a unilateral
state
settlement would damage the government unity needed to maintain
a
strong bargaining position with the polluters, and would violate
public trust. We are already outraged regarding 2 previous
surprise
contracts signed by our state with no public awareness or input
(the
$10 million deal in 1997, and the $2 million deal, both for the
deliberately disastrous 56/57 dredging project in Green Bay.)
In
addition, we know of 2 other serious cases where the state pretended
to work cooperatively with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service (on
the
Sheboygan River, and on the Nemadji River on Lake Superior), only
to
announce surprise settlement offers which weakened the federal
bargaining position. Such bad-faith actions should not
be tolerated
in our state government.
5. Could cause years of delay and major
litigation costs --- Because
the polluters can exploit the conflict between Gov. Thompson and
other
governments, they are less likely to negotiate seriously or settle
with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and its co-trustees, and
are
more likely to fight the federal case in court. This
could delay
compensation for years or block it altogether.
6. Endangers Wisconsin's reputation
--- The State of Michigan and
three Native American tribes have joined the U.S. Fish & Wildlife
Service as co-trustees in the federal NRDA. Gov. Thompson
is
opposing their efforts to achieve justice and compensation in this
case, which could harm future intergovernmental relations on other
issues as well.
7. Wastes tax dollars --- The
NRDA effort could be finished more
quickly, more efficiently, and more cheaply if Gov. Thompson weren't
conflicting with the federal government and other co-trustees every
step of the way over the past 6 years. Both the state
and federal
governments have had to waste thousands of labor-hours, paper, phone
calls, travel, meeting expenses and other significant costs trying
to
satisfy the state's objections and resolve these conflicts --- to
no
avail. Now it appears that the conflict costs could
escalate
considerably, a tremendous waste of taxdollars.
8. Reduces compensation for damages to
public rights --- Due to all
the conflicts, pressures and basic philosophical objections by the
state cited above, the final total bill presented to the 7 paper
companies for compensation and restoration will be much lower than
it
could be if our governments were unified and truly fighting for
justice. If the state were to enthusiastically join with the
federal
government and other co-trustees in this case, the state has the
authority to add several more layers of economic damage measures
to
the case and significantly INCREASE the compensation dollars we
could
receive from the polluters. Instead, Gov. Thompson's
DNR has already
said many times they don't believe ANY compensation is needed, they
prefer to simply clean up the PCBs and forget about the billions
of
dollars of economic, social and ecological losses our region has
suffered over several decades, due to PCB contamination.
9. Could set negative national precedents
--- The Fox River case is
one of the biggest in the country; therefore, we have a responsibility
to set a good example for how NRDAs should be written and enforced
to
achieve justice. We are being watched closely by other states
and
citizens looking for help. The State's pro-polluter
approach is not
a model we want copied anywhere.
Conclusion
"The bottom line is that Gov. Thompson is working against the public
interest --- and helping seven multinational paper corporations
(most
with headquarters in other states and countries) escape their duty
to
compensate the public for serious damages," charged Rebecca Katers.
"We call on the Wisconsin Attorney General and state legislature
to
investigate the Governor's actions. We also urge the
Wisconsin
Attorney General to join the Service as a co-trustee (as the Michigan
AG has) to represent the public rights of Wisconsin citizens, because
the Governor refuses to."
Rebecca Leighton Katers
Clean Water Action Council of N.E. Wisconsin
1270 Main Street, Suite 120
Green Bay, WI 54302
Ph: 920-437-7304
FAX: 920-437-7326
CleanWater@cwac.net
Homepage: www.cwac.net
