More Misinformation from The \'Daily Disaster\'

    icon Mar 22, 2007
    icon 0 Comments

Dear Editor, The Review:

Editorial comments are opinion and everyone has one and is entitled to one but they are not entitled to their own facts. Editorial boards must deliver accurate information when sounding off atop their daily soapbox - accuracy being a core editorial value, or so one would think. 

But a recent editorial by The Saginaw News concerning legal action about the dredging project on the Saginaw River could not be more wrong in their opening editorial statement:

"In the latest twist to clear the Saginaw River for shipping traffic, a pair of environmental groups filed suit in Ingham County to block Saginaw County and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers from building a dredging spoils disposal site." 

WHAT? Just not true. This suit was not filed as The Saginaw News stated to block the building of the dredge spoils site. This suit was filed to compel MDEQ to do their job and apply the law when permitting discharge of water from the dredge disposal site back into the river. The End.

We would have filed this suit even if we were in agreement with the location of the dredge site. 

The state cannot permit contaminated water to be returned to the Saginaw River. The precedent is huge for the entire Great Lakes region. This is not just about this local project.

To not require the legally mandated permits on a project of this magnitude when handling large amounts of toxic sediment and water slurried into a pit is shortsighted and irresponsible.

The need to dredge the river does not preclude doing this publicly financed project correctly. Commitment to the watershed and the taxpayers deserve better.

If efforts fail to obtain the discharge permit we seek and contaminated water is allowed to flow back into the river's water column and move out to Lake Huron, is that OK?

Of course it isn't. We asked The Saginaw News for a correction but they declined.

You can view the filing in Ingham County by visiting www.dredeitright.org

Michelle Hurd Riddick Lone Tree Council

Share on:

Comments (0)

icon Login to comment