Public comments are invited at the meeting. The opening of a formal public comment period will also be announced in the Federal Register.
The RCDP represents the next phase of the NRDA process and is the culmination of a 6-year effort to describe the type and scale of environmental restoration needed after decades of PCB contaminant releases into the ecosystem. In the RCDP, the Co-trustees present their planned approach for restoring natural resources and compensating the public for losses caused by releases of PCBs.
This RCDP ties together the Co-trustees previous injury determinations, completes the economic valuation of damages, and presents an evaluation of the type and scale of environmental restoration required. The public is encouraged to comment on the RCDP, and the Co-trustees will respond to comments in their Report of Assessment. Co-trustees include: the Service, the Menominee Indian Tribe of Wisconsin, the Oneida Tribe of Indians of Wisconsin, the Little Traverse Bay Bands of Odawa Indians of Michigan, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the Michigan Attorney General, and the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
According to NRDA Specialist David Allen, A final damage claim for the Fox River and Green Bay NRDA cannot be completed until response actions by the EPA and Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources have been selected. This is because of the relationship between the extent of site cleanup undertaken by the response agencies and the total damages to natural resources.
He added, As outlined in the previously released Initial RCDP, a quick and complete remedy or cleanup will result in less environmental harm. At sites like the Lower Fox River and Green Bay Environment, where decades of harm have already occurred and where even the best available remedies will not compensate the public for past harm, restoration activities are necessary to compensate the public for losses incurred.
Even the most aggressive cleanup in the river cannot prevent further harm in Green Bay, where most of the PCBs released by Fox River paper mills now reside, and injuries will continue in the Fox River for some time in the future. The final claim for damages requires evaluation of the extent and timing of site cleanup and the rate of recovery of natural resources, Allen said.
Wednesdays public meeting in Green Bay will include presentations from Service Regional Director Bill Hartwig, and NRDA Specialist Allen. Other members of the Intergovernmental Partnership may also provide updates.
The Brown County Library is located at 515 Pine Street in downtown Green Bay. Parking is available at the library, located on the northwest corner of Monroe and Pine Streets. For more information, call David Allen, 920-465-7407, or Larry Dean, 612-713-5312.
Copies of the report are available online at the Services Fox River and Green Bay NRDA website: http://midwest.fws.gov/nrda/ or you can make an appointment to view it at the Service Reading Room at 1015 Challenger Court in Green Bay. Reading Room appointments are available by calling 920-465-7408.
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.
