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Twelve Years of Delay - A Fox River Clean-up Timeline This history shows that official cleanup efforts and meetings have been pursued by the DNR staff for more than 12 years, without results. 1986 --- DNR started the Remedial Action Plan (RAP) process for
cleaning up the Fox River and Green Bay, with planning committees including
more than 80 citizens from business, the community, academia, and agencies.8
In December, Rebecca Katers, an environmental group representative, circulated
a memo urging the RAP committees to support Superfund enforcement and funding
for Fox River cleanup.9
1986 --- Thompson began his first term as Governor. 1988 --- The RAP document was finished and the implementation phase started. Public hearings drew hundreds of local citizens enthusiastic about the plan which called for cleanup of PCB contaminated sediments in the river.8 1989 --- On January 26, Governor Thompson appointed his fourth member of the Natural Resources Board, giving his appointees majority control over the seven-member Board which sets policy for the DNR. At that time, the Board controlled hiring and firing of the DNR Secretary. 1989 --- The DNR and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service met to discuss legal actions to enforce cleanup of the Fox River. The DNR began investigating a possible state NRDA. A top-level DNR Administrator, Lyman Wible, wrote to DNR Secy. Besadny, "we will need to request the Governor's approval" before any legal action.10 1990 --- An internal memo mentions the DNR Administration's intent to pursue enforcement actions to recover costs of the demonstration project at Little Lake Butte des Morts, before more demonstrations would be attempted.11 This legal action never occured. 1991 --- The only active Fox River environmentalist on the RAP committees, Rebecca Katers, was removed by the DNR from the RAP implementation process because she promoted enforcement actions, the "polluter pays principle," and more aggressive RAP activities. This left committees dominated by paper industry, business, local government representatives, and academics. 1991 -- The EPA urged the DNR to join with them in an enforcement
lawsuit requiring Fox River cleanup.13, 17 Ron Nicotera, head of
DNR's Bureau of Endangered Resources, wrote an internal DNR memo stating,
"We would be remiss to pass up an opportunity to support EPA's proposed
lawsuit ... to mitigate the specific pollution concerns in the Green Bay
area."12
1991 --- The DNR hired two NRDA experts, Tom Eggert and Peter
Jopke, to help plan a state Natural Resources Damage Assessment (NRDA).
Several Bureaus within the DNR were asked to assign staff to a team working
on the issue.15 In November, the U.S. Dept. of Interior
held a 2-day workshop explaining NRDA process details, attended by 26 DNR
employees, including Lyman Wible.16, 17
1992 ---The DNR reassigned NRDA staff elsewhere and cancelled
all enforcement plans. Instead, the DNR created the Fox River Coalition
to pursue a "voluntary cooperative approach." 20 Fourteen paper
industry representatives participated.21 No environmental groups,
conservationists or ordinary citizens were represented. No public
hearing was held over the following 6 years, despite repeated requests
from
1992 --- DNR Secy. Besadny told U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service that WDNR intended to "exhaust cooperative solutions" instead of pursuing an NRDA. He also stated that the DNR provides "customer service" to the paper industry and that legal confrontation and publicity should be avoided as much and for as long as possible.17 1993 --- The U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service wrote to DNR Secy. Meyer, formally inviting the DNR to work with the FWS as a co-trustee in an NRDA.18 DNR declined. The FWS proceeded despite the state's lack of support. For the next 5 years, the Governor and DNR objected and lobbied against the federal NRDA. 1994 --- The DNR received approval from EPA for state exemption from the federal Toxic Substances Control Act to allow hazardous waste levels of PCBs in ordinary Wisconsin landfills.24 A public hearing was held in Madison, but not in any other parts of the state where the actual PCB landfilling would occur.25 1994 --- U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service publicly announced plans to start a federal NRDA. 1994 --- Thomas Dawson, Wisconsin Public Intervenor in the Wis. Dept. of Justice, wrote to congressional members and several federal parties, urging support for the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and NRDA.22 He also began indepth research of the Fox River Coalition and DNR actions on the Fox River.65 1994 ---The DNR participated in Fox River Coalition press conferences and news releases announcing the start of a river cleanup.23 The cleanup never happened. 1995 --- Gov. Thompson and the Republicans in the state legislature, in a straight partyline vote, gave the Governor control over the hiring and firing of the DNR Secretary --- effectively taking DNR control away from the citizen-based Natural Resources Board. 1995 --- Gov. Thompson and the Republicans in the state legislature,
in a straight partyline vote, also abolished the Wisconsin Public Intervenor
Office.
1995 --- After more than 3 years of preparation, the DNR dropped plans for a demonstration project to clean up Deposit A in Little Lake Butte des Mort near Neenah, after P.H. Glatfelter Company backed out of a deal to pay for part of the cleanup. (A major portion would have been paid by state taxpayers.) 1996 --- Gov. Thompson and the DNR continued to formally oppose
the federal NRDA, and lobby Congress and the Clinton Administration against
it.
1997 --- Over the month of January 1997, discussions between
the Service and the state were frequent, and several drafts of a "Memorandum
of Agreement" (MOA) were exchanged.28
1997 --- At public events throughout the year, the Governor used the $10 million settlement to draw attention to his environmental leadership and criticize federal involvement. 1997 --- The federal NRDA was delayed with a legal "time-out" (a "tolling" agreement which prevented the statute of limitations from running out) to allow the state and other agencies more time to pursue negotiations for a cleanup plan. 1997 --- The last meeting of the Fox River Coalition was held in the summer. The polluters then formed their own coalition, called the Fox River Group. 1997 ---In the summer the EPA began talk of nominating the river for federal Superfund status,29 but held off another year to allow time for a negotiated settlement. Gov. Thompson sent a harsh and deeply critical letter to EPA and asked EPA to return to "an honest, open and respectful partnership with the State of Wisconsin." 30 The Governor's resistance was described as "unusual."33 1997 --- In the summer, the state and federal governments, and tribal agencies signed a Memorandum of Understanding to work together to negotiate a settlement with the polluters. 1997 --- Fall negotiations failed. The DNR and other government agencies put an offer on the table and the paper industry walked out. 1998 ---The Governor and the DNR aggressively lobbied all winter and spring against Superfund status. The DNR proposed to hire staff to handle public education on Fox River clean-up issues, but hiring was delayed. Little outreach occurred until after most local governments passed resolutions against Superfund and called for delays until the "demonstration projects" were studied.56 The DNR staff never explained to most local governments that the DNR did not support such delays, so the local officials believed their resolutions helped DNR. 1998 --- The Governor told the paper mills he would expedite the granting of permits for the demonstration projects and assist in obtaining federal permits.79 1998 --- In July, EPA formally proposed the river for the National
Priority List for Superfund cleanup, starting a 60 day comment period.32
Recently --- On July 22, after strong public criticism of the Governor's
12 years of inaction, he leveraged a new round of negotiations in Madison
between all the parties, the first negotiation since last November.
At the same time, the U.S. EPA will be taking public comments until September 28, on whether the EPA should add the Fox River to the National Priority List for Superfund.
Report Sections Twelve Years of Delay - A Fox River Clean-up Timeline Deals, Consultants,
Paper Industry Allies, and Tourism
The Fed's Step In
The Paper Money Trail
- Political Campaign Contributions to the Governor
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