November, 2000
Vol. 4, No. 4
Table of Contents
Compensation for PCB Damage
Gov. Thompson Undermines Compensation for
PCB Damages
Consequences of DNR's Duplicate Industry
NRDA
Fish & Wildlife Hearings
Jobs are Not the Issue
Economic Damages Not Included
Comparing Two Disasters (... let's put this
in perspective...)
Bottom Line: Seven Paper Companies Owe Us
Major Compensation
DNR's Biased Consultants
Please Help!
Compensation for PCB Damage
Your participation matters!
We have a one-time opportunity to require the Fox River polluters to pay more than $300 million as compensation for damages caused by toxic chemicals they dumped in the Fox River, Green Bay and Lake Michigan. The money will be used for protecting wetlands and valuable wildlife habitat, improving our recreation opportunities, and for pollution prevention in the area, to make up for past and future PCB damages which can't be repaired despite sediment cleanup efforts.
This compensation plan is separate from the sediment cleanup plan which should be proposed early next year by DNR and EPA.
We appreciate the leadership and courage of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in pushing ahead with this plan, despite opposition from the polluters, the state and local governments. Unfortunately, the political power of the paper industry in our area makes it necessary for a federal agency to step in and enforce the law.
Written Comments
Please send a letter expressing your views by the deadline: Dec.15 For comment ideas, please read the rest of this newsletter. Write to:
Mr. David Allen
U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
1015 Challenger Court
Green Bay, WI 54311
Background on the Compensation Plan
The Restoration and Compensation Determination Plan is the final stage of the Natural Resources Damages Assessment (NRDA). It can be viewed online at: http://www.fws.gov/r3pao/nrda/
In the plan, the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposes to use between $176 million and $333 million in compensation money provided by the polluters for:
1. Wetland conservation, restoration and enhancement projects (in Northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan). Wetlands provide critical wildlife habitat for nesting waterfowl, spawning fish, and endangered species. Wetlands also reduce flooding (by slowing water flow) and improve water quality by filtering excess nutrients and other pollution from the water.
2. Non-point Controls --- Reducing run-off pollution to the Fox River through vegetated buffer strips along streams and with conservation tillage on farmland.
3. Recreation --- Some improvements to existing recreational sites along the waterfront
4. Additional Sediment Cleanup --- The Service could require more PCB sediment cleanups if they decide the state and EPA's cleanup plan is too weak, but the Service is saying so far they believe additional work will not be needed.
According to the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, the total dollar figures depend on whether the state and EPA sediment cleanup plan is able to meet goals in 20 or 40 years. If PCB damages last another 40 years, the higher compensation is needed.
The Service has been joined by several co-trustees who are all working together on this compensation plan: the U.S. Dept. of Interior, the U.S. Dept. of Justice, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Michigan Attorney General, the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, the Menominee Tribe, and the Little Traverse Bay Band of Odawa Indians, in Michigan.
The 7 paper corporations responsible for the toxic PCB contamination are: Appleton Paper Company, NCR Corp., Georgia Pacific, P.H. Glatfelter, Fort James Corp., Riverside Paper, and U.S. Paper Mills. The PCBs (polychlorinated biphenyls) came from carbonless copy paper made by Appleton Paper and NCR Corp., and recycled by the other 5 corporations.
The compensation plan can't be finalized until the DNR's sediment cleanup plan is completed with a Record of Decision by the U.S. EPA sometime next year (hopefully sooner than later.)
The compensation plan faces a major obstacle, because Governor Thompson and the DNR oppose it.
Shortcomings of the Service's Plan
Though the state claims it is too strong, the Clean Water Action Council believes the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service's compensation plan is weaker than it should be.
1. Too Little Money -- The federal plan is based on very limited economic damages caused by PCBs. It includes just the $65 million in past losses for the currently active recreational fishing industry, plus between $111 and $268 million in restoration.
Water uses will be suppressed and damaged for another 20 to 40 years according to the Service's report, so those future losses should be added to the total. Even if water clarity improves and wetlands are preserved, this doesn't change damages caused by PCB contamination.
2. Non-point Pollution controls should NOT be a major focus
While we agree that non-point pollution is a serious problem in this watershed and needs serious attention, we don't believe this special one-time pot of money should be spread so thinly. Non-point pollution controls should be covered under regular government programs statewide on an on-going basis. Currently, the state and federal governments are upgrading non-point pollution control regulations which should already include features described in this plan, such as riparian buffer strips.
If the Service decides to provide this money despite our concerns, certain controls are needed:
a. Non-point funding to private property owners should be provided only in hardship cases, such as struggling family farms, on a sliding scale according to the ability to pay. Large corporate farms or other wealthy property owners shouldn't qualify, because they don't need handouts. The law should simply require them to reduce their non-point pollution.
b. The riparian buffer strips should be created as mixed wildlife habitat with a diversity of natural plant species, not as simplistic monoculture crops of non-native grass. Maintenance plans should specify techniques to sustain a diversity of native wildlife.
c. If this plan reduces nutrients and suspended solids in the Fox River, this should be a permanent reduction and should NOT increase the wasteload allocations to existing industries along the river, or allow new pollution from new sources. Current state law does not prevent the reallocation of the river's "pollution assimilative capacity" (dividing up the "right to pollute" among several companies) so any progress made through this compensation plan could be quickly lost as the state issues new or increased pollution permits.
It's not enough to settle this issue with the 7 paper corporations, because pollution rights could easily be granted to others on the river. The state must guarantee by contract that the progress bought with this settlement won't be given away.
Because the Governor and DNR are not supporting the Service's plan, the non-point portion of the plan is risky. If the state won't agree to permanent progress, this aspect of the plan should be abandoned and the compensation funds shifted towards more habitat work.
3. Habitat Restoration and Protection Should be the Emphasis
The compensation funds should be focussed on protecting and enhancing wetland and nearshore upland habitat for endangered species within the river and bay watershed.
The various governments lack adequate budgets to safeguard and enhance the survival of rare species. This NRDA compensation plan is an ideal opportunity to use these special funds to provide permanent protection, so future generations can enjoy the full diversity of species native to our area.
At the same time, this money should not be used for projects which essentially
serve a different purpose, such as the Cat Island Chain restoration. This
project would provide cheap disposal for sediments dredged from the Brown
County Harbor shipping channel It would be unjust to use these
special compensation dollars to support a harbor project to
benefit a major harbor user, Fort James Corp., which also happens to
be a major PCB polluter. If Fort James Corp. wants disposal
projects, they should pay extra, and not dip into these limited dollars.
Gov. Thompson Undermines Compensation for PCB Damages
The Clean Water Action Council recently issued a news release to call public attention to the hostile position being taken by Gov. Thompson's DNR against the Service's plan.
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. Instead he's endorsing the biased research of corporate consultants who, could undermine the federal case for compensation.
In 1993, Gov. Thompson refused to allow the Wisconsin DNR to join the Service in writing an NRDA and compensation plan. Instead, the Governor created a government/industry committee (called the Fox River Coalition) to pursue a "voluntary,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.
(Visit Clean Water Action Council's website for a 16 page report about the Governor's actions: 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, 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. The DNR plans to release their own compensation plan in late November.
We
will ask for public hearings and a lengthy written comment period.
DNR Secretary George Meyer recently said the state will settle damage claims independent of the Service, "unless they come to a more moderate position." He said, "I would rather see the greatest bulk of the money go for cleanup rather than compensation."
The Governor and DNR refuse to acknowledge that the paper companies can afford to pay for BOTH cleanup and compensation.
It's not enough to require the polluters to just clean the sediments, when they've caused decades of severe economic , social and environmental damage to our communities. The Fox cleanup is one of the biggest cases in the entire country, on a par with the Exxon oil spill in Alaska, and we deserve equally serious compensation.
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 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.)
It's disturbing that neither the Governor nor DNR Secretary (nor any other lead DNR official) came to the October 25th 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.
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 could use state endorsements against the 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 Governor 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 ? - 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 destroy the government
unity needed to maintain a strong bargaining position with the polluters,
and it would certainly 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 inept 56/57 dredging project in Green Bay.)
In addition, we know of 2 other 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. Damages 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. The state and polluters continue to argue that this is just a "local" issue which requires a "local" solution.
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 coming conflict and litigation costs could escalate
considerably, an outrageous waste of our 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 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 some of the PCBs and forget about the billions of dollars of economic, social and ecological losses our region has suffered over several decades, due to PCBs.
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
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.
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 Gov. Thompson refuses to.
Four important public hearings are planned on the PCB damage compensation plan written by the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service for Northeast Wisconsin and the Upper Peninsula of Michigan. (This compensation plan is separate from the PCB sediment cleanup plan to be proposed early next year.)
Monday, Nov. 27 -- at the Winnebago County Courthouse, Lounge 60, 415
Jackson Street, in downtown Oshkosh, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. (Come
in by
the big steps by the parking lot.)
Wednesday, Nov. 30 -- at the Door County Courthouse, 421 Nebraska
St., in
downtown Sturgeon Bay, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Wednesday, Dec. 6 -- at the Escanaba Civic Center, 225 N. 21st Street,
Escanaba, Michigan from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Thursday, Dec. 7 -- at the Bordini Center, at Fox Valley Technical College,
1825 N. Bluemound Dr., in Appleton, from 6:00 to 10:00 p.m.
Please attend and bring friends!
Show support for a major compensation plan!
The PCB cleanup and compensation plans would be shared among 7 major corporations, with 98% of the responsibility falling on the 5 largest. These are multinational corporations, all with headquarters in other states and countries, with worldwide financial assets in the tens of billions of dollars. They can afford sharing the estimated $400 million to $1.2 billion cost of the cleanup and compensation plans, especially when those costs can be spread over several decades, just like a home mortgage.
For example: Fort Howard Corp. and James River Corp. recently spent $500 million just on their merger to form Fort James Corp. Now, Fort James Corp. is merging into Georgia Pacific, with similar costs. In addition, several of the corporations are investing hundreds of millions overseas in countries like China, Mexico, Turkey and Russia.
But the corporations owe us compensation and cleanup first. They have a debt to pay here.
Jobs are not the issue . The corporations can't escape their Fox River liabilities by leaving, and they have a huge capital and staff investment along the Fox River. They might as well continue making money by operating the local mills. They gain nothing by shutting down, except to lose their source of income.
It's important to remember that the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service
will do a financial study of the 7 corporations to determine their ability
to pay before setting the final dollar amount for the compensation.
The federal government has said many times they have no intention of
bankrupting the corporations or damaging the local economy. (If
anything the cleanup and compensation will boost our economy.)
The corporations are trying to dodge their responsibilities by frightening workers, the public, and elected officials, but this is pure politics, not reality. They've delayed the cleanup for decades with such threats.
Consider the billions of dollars of interest the corporations and their shareholders have earned on money they should have provided right away for cleanup 25 years ago. Delay has been profitable for them.
The corporations chose to dump their chemical wastes into our valuable public waters. We must hold them accountable for the full damages, without further delay.
The Service did not include the following economic losses when calculating the total compensation plan. These losses should be added on:
* Discouraged Anglers --- For decades, thousands of discouraged anglers have chosen NOT to fish on the Fox River, Green Bay, or Lake Michigan, due to the PCB contamination. The resulting economic losses could easily dwarf the losses experienced by currently active fishermen and the businesses (charter boats, baitshops, restaurants, hotels, gas stations, marinas, etc.) that depend on them. The Service was too conservative in calculating damages based only on currently active anglers.
* Closed Commercial Fisheries --- Several species of river, bay and Lake Michigan fish are off-limits to commercial fishermen. Many multi-generation family businesses have been forced to close, or have and will face serious financial losses.
* Discouraged Duck Hunters --- Duck hunters have also faced and will continue to face strict consumption advisories due to PCBs.
* Lost Food Value --- Thousands of subsistence fishers and hunters (including low income and ethnic people) face major economic losses if they follow the fish advisories and are forced to purchase an equal quantity of store-bought fish and poultry. Green Bay is one of the most productive estuaries in the entire Great Lakes region. The grocery store value of the hundreds of tons of fish which could be produced annually is enormous.
* Dredge Disposal Costs -- Harbors and marinas face high maintenance costs due to disposal rules for PCB contaminated sediments dredged from shipping channels and boat slips. The extra costs run into the millions.
* Drinking Water Costs --- Because the river and bay are polluted, area communities rely on dwindling groundwater or expensive pipelines to Lake Michigan for drinking water supplies. More than a billion dollars will be spent on pipelines alone (when longterm financing is included.)
* Swimming Impacts --- Popular swimming beaches are closed due to pollution. People don't feel safe swimming in the Fox River or Bay, largely due to PCBs. (A study with Rhesus monkeys found that 14% of PCBs spread on their skin was absorbed in 24 hours, according to the Wis. Division of Health.) Local communities have built costly artificial pools and water theme parks to compensate for the loss of river or bay beaches.
* Wildlife Damages --- Threatened and endangered species have been harmed and deserve additional habitat compensation above and beyond the human economic losses. Bird-watching and other valuable wildlife enjoyment activities have been harmed, with serious economic effects.
* Growth Factors --- As human population grows over the next 20-40 years, the economic and social losses due to PCBs will also increase, until the PCBs fall to less harmful levels. Brown County's population alone increased 14.5% in the last 10 years, and such growth should be factored into the economic damage equations.
* Property Damage --- Many waterfront homes, businesses,and public properties have been devalued for decades due to the PCB contamination.
* Human Health --- The Service is not allowed by law to include economic losses due to human health effects. But imagine potential costs for thousands of people exposed to a chemical believed to cause cancer, immune system damage, birth defects, miscarriages, premature birth, behavior changes and lowered intelligence in children. A private civil action may be required to get compensation for citizens who believe they have been harmed by PCBs.
Comparing Two Disasters
(... let's put this in perspective...)
| Exxon Valdez Oil Spill
What was the disaster? The Exxon Valdez oil tanker crashed into a rock in Prince William Sound offshore from Alaska, spilling 257,000 barrels of oil into the water. How did it happen? A one-time accident caused by an inattentive captain and crew members,
and poor ship design (not double-hulled.)
Effects of the spill? Wildlife became sickened and/or died. Sport and subsistence
fishing were
Size of area impacted? 1,300 miles of shoreline around Prince William Sound were contaminated
by oil. 200 miles were heavily or moderately oiled, and 1,100 miles
were lightly or very lightly oiled.
Type of water resource? Saltwater bay connected to the diluting impacts of the Pacific Ocean
How much has Exxon claimed it has spent on clean up so far? $2.1 billion
How soon did Exxon start work to clean up Prince William Sound? Right away.
What was the financial settlement with Exxon? In the criminal plea agreement, Exxon was fined $150 million.
The court forgave $125 million of that fine given that Exxon helped clean
the spill and paid certain private claims. Of the remaining $25 million,
$12 million went to the North American Wetlands Conservation Fund and $13
million went to a national Victims of Crime Fund. As criminal
restitution for the injuries caused to the fish, wildlife and lands of
the spill region, Exxon agreed to pay $100 million, evenly divided between
the state and federal governments. In a civil settlement, Exxon
agreed to pay $900 million over a 10-year period. The governments
are allowed to claim an additional $100 million for additional work to
restore resources if it's determined by research that more work is needed
later.
Have the Victims been compensated? After a trial in 1994, Exxon was ordered by the court to pay $5.3 billion
to approximately 40,000 people (mostly fishers and Native Americans) harmed
NOTE: Many of the Exxon financial settlements are in addition
to the oil
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Fox River PCB Dumping
What was the disaster? Seven paper industries contaminated the Fox River, Green Bay and Lake Michigan with hundreds of thousands of pounds of toxic PCBs. How did it happen? PCBs were deliberately dumped in the river for nearly 50 years, with other untreated waste chemicals, despite 50 years of citizen protests against the pollution. Effects of the dumping? Wildlife became sickened and/or died. Sport and subsistence fishing
were badly damaged or shut down completely. Commercial fishing was
badly damaged or shut down completely. Thousands of people were contaminated
and/or sickened. Local ethnic cultures were damaged. The tourism
industry and local economies were severely harmed. Popular swimming
beaches were closed. The River and Bay can't be used for drinking
water. Commercial shipping and marina maintenance are much more expensive,
because of contaminated sediments. These damages have been
allowed to persist for
Size of area impacted? 39 miles of the Fox River, plus 2,737 square miles of Green Bay, and
roughly 36,226 square miles of Lake Michigan were contaminated with significant
quantities of PCBs. 70% of the PCBs (and fish-eating
Type of water resource? Freshwater river and bay connected to Lake Michigan, essentially a closed system (the lake flushes through to the lower Great Lakes only once every 99 years.) Millions of people use Lake Michigan for drinking water. How much have the 7 paper companies spent to clean up PCBs in the Fox River? Approximately $15 million for the 2 seasons of the 56/57 demonstration project by Fort James in Green Bay, plus a small share of the Deposit N demonstration costs. How soon did the paper industries start work to clean up the Fox River? About 50 years after PCB dumping started, and about 28 years after PCB-coated paper production was halted by Appleton Paper Company due to health liability concerns. What will be the financial settlement with the 7 paper industries who dumped PCBs? This will be determined by the Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA)
by several co-trustee agencies, including: the U.S. Fish and
Wildlife Service, NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration),
the Oneida Tribe of Wisconsin, the Menominee Tribe, the Little Traverse
Bay Band of Odawa Indians, and the Michigan Attorney General. These
governments will attempt to reach a settlement with the 7 paper industries,
but the restitution and compensation costs may need to be settled in court.
Gov.Thompson, the Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources, and the Wisconsin
Attorney General have not been supportive or cooperative, and may or may
not become co-trustees in this case. The public needs to show strong
support, to demand that the State of Wisconsin join as a supportive
Have the Victims been compensated? So far, the 7 paper companies have not compensated any of the people
harmed
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Bottom Line: Seven Paper Companies Owe Us Major Compensation
The Fox River PCB problem is a major national pollution case comparable to the Exxon oil spill, or worse given the years of delay before cleanup. The 7 responsible paper companies tried to save themselves money by lobbying and delaying action for more than 25 years, thereby allowing thousands of pounds of PCBs to escape the Fox River into Green Bay and Lake Michigan. This made the pollution much worse than it originally was when the DNR first publicized the damage, therefore the polluters should be ordered to pay the maximum allowed compensation for 25 years of additional damage, plus the original damage. (Anything less rewards their delay tactics.)
Polluters must be held accountable for their actions, or they will not change their ways and we'll see continued carelessness and obstruction in the future. Our water is too precious to allow this.
Here is just one example of the bias of the corporate consultants used by the DNR:
Triangle Economic Research (TER) is performing the state's assessment of economic damages caused by PCBs.
TER has a well-known bias against including several types of economic losses, which generally benefits polluters by limiting their liability
Their website states: "TER staff have worked on more than 50 natural resource damage assessments (NRDAs), mostly on behalf of potentially responsible parties" [ie: polluters.]
Their corporate clients include General Electric, Alcoa, Reynolds Metals, National Steel, Shell Oil Company, American Petroleum Institute, ARCO, Exxon, General Motors, British Petroleum, Mobil, ASARCO, Metlife, numerous power utilities, and other serious polluters.
TER does not include the State of Wisconsin on their client list, instead they include the "Fox River Group" which is the coalition of 7 paper companies opposing the Service's compensation plan here.
Other TER clients, like General Electric and General Motors, are facing their own PCB damage compensation negotiations on other rivers, and TER is working with them, and against the government,to minimize the polluters' liabilities.
It is clear that TER is not working in the public interest, though the state is endorsing their findings, in opposition to the economic findings of the federal government, the state of Michigan and 3 Tribes.
Please write a letter with your views on this issue by the deadline: December 15. For comment ideas, please read this newsletter. Write to:
Mr. David Allen
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
1015 Challenger Court
Green Bay, WI 54311
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