Tittabawassee River Natural Resource Damage Assessment and Restoration Overview
On July 27, 2020, a settlement with the Dow Chemical Company to address federal, state, and tribal claims for natural resource damages in the Tittabawassee River System was finalized. The settlement is for an estimated $77 million in projects and funding that will restore fish, wildlife, and habitats injured following releases of hazardous substances in past decades from Dow’s manufacturing facility in Midland, Michigan. Under the settlement, Dow will implement or fund a number of restoration projects identified in Midland, Bay, Saginaw, and nearby counties. The natural resource Trustees evaluated a range of restoration actions and alternatives which would provide benefits to natural resources to compensate the public for losses to natural resources injured by releases from Dow's Midland plant and published the Final Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment for the Tittabawassee River System.
Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe Restoration
Under the proposed settlement, Dow will provide $500,000 to allow the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan to purchase and restore land near Saginaw Bay with habitat features, including wetlands, that have cultural value to the tribe. The tribe uses wetland areas for hunting, fishing, and gathering practices important to sustaining cultural activities. This project is likely to be located in the Standish area near where the tribe and the Saginaw Basin Land Conservancy already have several nature preserves.
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