ABSTRACT OF U.S.

EPA COMMENTS

Revised Dow Remedial Investigation Work Plans

WPTD has completed a general review of the revised work plans for the Tittabawassee River and Upper
Saginaw River, and Midland Area Soils (the revised work plans). The revised work plans were submitted on
December 1, 2006 by the Dow Chemical Company, Midland, Michigan (Dow) in response to the Michigan
Department of Environmental Quality (MDEQ)’s March 2, 2006 and April 13, 2006 Notices of Deficiency
(NOD). Dow has demonstrated a pattern of missed deadlines, submittal of incomplete corrective action
documents, repeated failures to report environmental monitoring data, and improper application of confidential
status to otherwise public data. WPTD staff have identified significant deficiencies in the revised work plans
and recommend that MDEQ issue a NOD to Dow no later than 60 days from the date of our comments
requiring Dow to address the deficiencies. The major deficiencies in order of priority are as follows:

• There are no detailed implementation schedules in the revised Tittabawassee/Upper Saginaw River, and
Midland Area Soils work plans. Dow is conducting, with MDEQ’s acceptance, its remedial investigation
of the Saginaw Bay watershed without enforceable compliance schedules. We believe that enforceable
compliance schedules should be submitted by Dow to MDEQ and approved by MDEQ (as required by
Dow’s RCRA Permit) as soon as possible.

• Dow’s human health risk assessments (HHRAs) and ecological risk assessment are inconsistent with
current U.S. EPA guidance, do not provide any reason for departing from U.S. EPA guidance, and are
inconsistent with the typically accepted methods for conducting risk assessments. The Region has
commented in writing on several prior occasions that Dow’s HHRAs not be further considered nor
approved by MDEQ due to these deficiencies.

• Dow has shown a lack of progress in addressing the dioxin hot spots in the Tittabawassee River through
the timely implementation of Interim Response Actions as required by Dow’s RCRA Permit. Dow
committed to the RA in December/January to address Reaches D and O as soon as possible, but removal
has not yet been initiated, and for Reach O is projected not to begin until July of 2008.

• It is not possible to determine if Dow’s current target analyte list (which contains over 700 chemicals) is
complete, because Dow's description of historic plant operations and waste management practices is
inadequate. Dow provides no specific information in the revised work plans concerning the many
hazardous constituents potentially released by Dow to the Saginaw Bay watershed over its ~110 year
history, aside from a history of Dow's historic chlorine production and a general list of products produced
by Dow.