The Trustees conducted a natural resource damage assessment (NRDA) to restore natural resources, and the services they provide, that were injured as a result of releases of hazardous substances from the Dow Chemical Company (Dow) plant property in Midland, Michigan to the Tittabawassee River System Area (the Site). The Trustees for the Site are the State of Michigan, represented by the Department of the Environment, Great Lakes, and Energy (EGLE), the Department of Natural Resources and the Department of the Attorney General; the Saginaw Chippewa Indian Tribe of Michigan; and the U.S. Department of the Interior, represented by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service and the Bureau of Indian Affairs. Polychlorinated dibenzo-p-dioxins and dibenzofurans are the primary contaminants of concern. The Site includes a 24-mile stretch of the Tittabawassee River south of the confluence of the Chippewa River, the 22-mile Saginaw River, and portions of the 1,143 square mile Saginaw Bay. The State of Michigan has issued fish consumption advisories throughout the Site, wild game advisories for the floodplains of the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers and soil contact/movement advisories for the Tittabawassee River floodplain.

The United States Environmental Protection Agency (US EPA) and EGLE are working together for a comprehensive cleanup of the Dow’s Midland Plant and areas affected by releases from the plant. EGLE, under its RCRA Hazardous Waste program, leads cleanup and monitoring of Dow’s Midland Plant and the City of Midland. US EPA, pursuant to the Superfund Alternative Site program, leads cleanup and monitoring in and along the rivers and bay downstream of Dow's Midland Plant. US EPA divided the Tittabawassee River, Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay into two operable units (OU). The first OU (OU 1) includes the Tittabawassee River and the first five miles of the Saginaw River, up to and including the 6th Street Turning Basin. The second OU (OU 2) includes the remainder of the Saginaw River and Saginaw Bay. OU 1 is divided into seven segments. As of February of 2024, Dow has conducted removal actions in all 7 segments of the Tittabawassee River with excavation, sediment capping, bank stabilization, and pumping of hazardous substances from subsurface sediments. Dow has also been conducting removals in the floodplain to be protective of human health. Only a few areas remain to be addressed in the banks, sediments, and the floodplain in Segments 6 and 7. Dow has began sampling the floodplain of the Saginaw River and conducted cleanup activities in a residential area of Middleground Island. See US EPA cleanup for more information

At the beginning of the NRDAR process, the Trustees completed a Preassessment Screen (PAS), which is a rapid review of readily available information on the releases of the hazardous substances and the potential impacts to natural resources. The Trustees determined in the PAS that an assessment was warranted. Subsequent to the PAS, the Trustees issued an Assessment Plan which outlined the approaches for assessing and quantifying injuries to natural resources. At approximately the same time, the Trustees signed a Memorandum of Agreement with Dow for cooperative assessment activities and also allowed for the Trustees to conduct independent assessment activities. The Trustees began planning for and conducting their assessment in 2005 and reached a proposed settlement with Dow in 2019 that was approved by the court on July 27, 2020. This settlement includes a suite of restoration projects to benefit natural resources and provide for public use and enjoyment of them and funding for the Trustees to do additional restoration and monitoring over time.

The settlement addresses natural resource injuries with restoration projects within Midland, Saginaw, Bay, and nearby counties. The ongoing clean-up efforts in the Tittabawassee and Saginaw Rivers will continue as part of a separate process. This settlement does not affect that clean-up process, and the planned restoration work will begin while the ongoing clean-up efforts continue. The Trustees have published a restoration plan that describes how the settlement will be implemented. Under the settlement, Dow is implementing a number of restoration projects identified in Midland, Bay, Saginaw, and nearby counties and has provided funding to the Trustees to implement others. These projects collectively include fish spawning and fish passage improvements; restoration of thousands of acres of wetlands and other habitats; creation of multiple public nature areas with nature trails, fishing platforms, and a bike trail segment; protection of a green corridor along the Tittabawassee River; and expansion of boating access at the mouth of the Saginaw River. The settlement also provided $5 million for additional projects to be solicited from the public and $10 million for long-term stewardship of the restoration projects, monitoring, and trustee costs to implement the settlement.

The Trustees solicited proposals from the public for additional restoration projects in late 2021 and sought public comment on a draft restoration plan evaluating proposed projects in 2022. After reviewing the public comments received, the Trustees selected ten projects in 2023. Two projects consist primarily of acquisition (fee title and easements); seven projects incorporate elements of riparian or wetland restoration and natural resource-based recreation; and one project will contribute to conservation of a state-listed species, the lake sturgeon. The Trustees describe these projects in their Tittabawassee River – Saginaw River & Bay Natural Resource Trustee Councils Final Supplemental Restoration Plan and Environmental Assessment, published July 7, 2023. The Trustees are working with partners to implement these projects.

More information about this NRDAR at the Fish and Wildlife Service Tittabawassee River Site