State environmental officials say tests along the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers are not showing recent floods caused dioxin and other contamination to spread.
In May, heavy rains and dam failures created a 500-year-flood in Midland County, including areas with histories of contamination from Dow Chemical.
The Michigan Departments of Health and Human Services (MDHHS) and Environment, Great Lakes and Energy (EGLE) tested sediment samples downstream from Midland last month.
EGLE spokeswoman Jill Greenberg says they were testing for dioxins and other contaminants.
“We do not expect those tests to exceed the area specific clean up level for the state,” says Greenberg.
State regulators are not recommending additional soil clean-up or management requirements beyond those already in place.
But local environmentalists say that’s “premature.”
Terry Miller is with the Lone Tree Council. He wants the state to release its data.
“The devil’s in the details and there’s not a lot of details in this,” says Miller.
Miller hopes state officials will share more data at a meeting scheduled for later this month.
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