Fish and Wildlife Service Supports EPA Decision Regarding Fox River/Green Bay Cleanup

"The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (Service) welcomes the involvement of the United States Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) in the Fox River/Green Bay environment." said Regional Director William Hartwig today. "We hope that the State of Wisconsin will respond affirmatively to the EPA’s June 18 request for State support to add the lower Fox River to EPA’s Superfund National Priorities List (NPL) of hazardous waste sites."

As an agency of the Department of the Interior, the Service has been trying to work with the State of Wisconsin since 1989 in a joint Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) to assess the level of injury to fish, wildlife and their habitats resulting from PCB-contaminated sediments in the Fox River.

The NRDA is authorized under several pieces of federal legislation, including the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act (CERCLA, aka "Superfund"), the same legislation used by the EPA in their June 18 action.

A final draft Memorandum of Agreement between the State, Service and other parties was mailed to the State on Tuesday, June 17, in hopes that the State will join with the other trustees and EPA to pursue a comprehensive settlement.

"Our goals under the NRDA process continue to be to restore fish and wildlife resources for the public’s future use, compensate the community for their loss and maintain a healthy local economy." said Hartwig. "These goals are now joined by EPA’s responsibility in addressing human health issues in the area. The NPL listing would increase the likelihood that Fox River issues would be addressed by all parties in a comprehensive manner."

Other parties involved in the NRDA include the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration.

The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is the principal Federal agency responsible for conserving, protecting and enhancing fish, wildlife and plants and their habitats for the continuing benefit of the American people. The Service manages the 93-million-acre National Wildlife Refuge System which encompasses more than 530 national wildlife refuges, thousands of small wetlands and other special management areas. It also operates 66 national fish hatcheries, 64 fishery resource offices and 78 ecological services field stations. The agency enforces Federal wildlife laws, administers the Endangered Species Act, manages migratory bird populations, restores nationally significant fisheries, conserves and restores wildlife habitat such as wetlands, and helps foreign governments with their conservation efforts. It also oversees the Federal Aid program that distributes hundreds of millions of dollars in excise taxes on fishing and hunting equipment to state fish and wildlife agencies. For further information about the programs and activities of the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service in the Great Lakes-Big Rivers Region, please visit our home page at: http://midwest.fws.gov