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Here are the articles you wanted to see. By the way, we missed you ontoday's conference call.—————————————————— Forwarded by Susan Pastor/R5/USEPA/US on 0 1/ 18/200 11 0 : 3 0 AM ———————————————————

Briana Bill01/ 16/2001 1 1 :22 AM

To: Mick Hans/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, Susan Pastor/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, JAMESHAHNENBERG/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, Roger Grimes/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, DavidUllrich/R5/USEPA/US6EPA, Phil Hoffman/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, ShirleyDorsey/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, JMilton Clark/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, BRENDAJONES/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, FRANK ROLLINS/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, WilliamMuno/R5/USEPA/US@EPA, TODD GOEKS/R5/USEPA/US@EPA

cc:Subject: 4 Fox ArticlesTwo op-ed pieces regarding the Appleton/NCR offer; one about the Hudson,one refuting that PCBs cause cancer.

OpinionGUEST COLUMNCooperate, Don't Confront, to Clean up the Fox River

Paul Karch01/ 14/2001 Wisconsin State Journal All Page B2 (Copyright (c) Madison

Newspapers, Inc. 2001 )'Im writing in response to the Jan. 7 news story headlined, "Memo reveals

paper firm's offer."Most people agree that the best solution to the PCB problem in the Fox

River will come from a good-faith, cooperative effort among all the peopleinvolved - from government agencies to paper companies and communities. Wemay not yet agree on the best approach for restoring the river, but we doagree that work in the river can and should begin now, even before thatultimate solution is developed. There has already been a lot ofnon-productive and costly confrontation. It's time to move ahead and makereal progress.

This belief is what prompted Appleton Papers, NCR Corporation, the stateDepartment of Natural Resources and the other government agencies workingon the Fox River issue to begin a new round of discussions. Our goals areto begin work in the river sooner and to foster solid cooperative effortsfor a long-term solution down the road. It took some out-of-the-boxthinking and a commitment to responsibility for the river, and we aredelighted that we are making some real progress.

The "offer" inaccurately described in the Jan. 7 State Journal was notfor a "final settlement." Appleton and NCR have offered to provide thegovernment agencies with a substantial amount of money for several years inorder to allow work on the river to begin this spring and summer andcontinue throughout the lengthy, complicated and difficult process ofdetermining the best Fox River solution. The money was offered with nostrings attached - no request for final releases. This money would notlimit the companies' liability, butt Appleton and NCR would receive creditagainst their ultimate share of the PCB clean-up costs .

Both community leaders and the public have for several years implored the

government and paper companies to make specific proposals for advancing therestoration of the river. Everyone has underscored the importance ofworking together on these efforts. In fact, the National Academy ofSciences released a report last week stating that the restoration ofPCB-contaminated sediments must be determined on a case-by-case basis withall parties involved, using a "site-specific analysis on how to best reducerisk." We were pleased to see the correlation between that recommendationand the current cooperative effort underway here in Wisconsin.

Appleton Papers/NCR have proposed investing very significant amounts ofmoney on various projects, along with a process to evaluate theireffectiveness, to ensure the best possible result here on the Fox River,where we work and live.

These meetings have not been conducted in "secret," but have involvedrepresentatives from all the governmental agencies involved at the stateand federal level, including the DNR, Wisconsin Department of Justice, theU . S . Environmental Protection Agency , U . S . Fish and Wildlife Service, U . S .Department of Justice, Oneida and Menominee Nations, and the NationalOceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Although the Journal storyindicated otherwise, the governor's office has not been involved in thesediscussions, which have included only the agencies addressing this matter.

We sincerely hope that this collaborative effort can help set the stagefor the best solution for the Fox River. We are committed to talking andworking together to find ways in which we can all move forward,collaboratively, so that our resources and energies are directed toimproving the environment for the people of the Fox River Valley, ratherthan on litigation and confrontation.

* * * * * * * * * * jjEXT STORY * * * * * * * * * *OpinionMore Mail: Fox Valley Water Quality Companies Should Take Responsibility

for Fox River01/ 14/2001 Wisconsin State Journal All Page B2 (Copyright (c) Madison

Newspapers, Inc. 200 1 )After reading a recent story in the Wisconsin State Journal on the Fox

River, we are greatly concerned about actions being taken on this issue.A factor that startled us was that many businesses believe they can

correct the damages they have done with money. The people who are trulyaffected by pollution are not even born yet. We should have a right tospeak for our children and their future. Generations to come will look atour environment in disgust if we don't change now.

We can't pay Mother Nature for cleaner water or cleaner air.Like Chief Seattle said in his lament: "The land is sacred to us. How can

you buy or sell the sky, the warmth of the land? The idea is strange to us.If we do not own the freshness of the air and the sparkle of the water, howcan you buy them?

"This we know, the earth does not belong to man; man belongs to theearth. All things are connected like the blood which unites one family. Allthings are connected. Whatever befalls the sons of the earth. Man did notweave the web of life; he is merely a strand in it. What ever he does tothe web he does to himself."

This man lived almost 150 years before us. Should we call him a psychicbecause he predicted the future? We are glad that he isn 't able to see the

world today. We would be ashamed. Society does not think about the future,but the here and now. Companies should take responsibility for theiractions. . . .

- Danielle Willey, Shae Carpenter, Tonia Pretsch and Stacey Moriva, RiverValley High School, Spring Green

Thompson not involved in Fox River clean-up talksA recent news story on the PCS environmental remediation activities on

the Fox River and the negotiations with a paper company surrounding theclean-up of the river was based entirely on a memo that included outdatedinformation and did not accurately reflect the most up-to-date andcomprehensive discussions.

The internal memo cited in the story uses numbers that were neverintended to project the company's total liability for the clean-up of theriver. To set the record straight, Appleton Papers proposed more than ayear ago to make a $10 million annual payment over an unspecified number ofyears for interim site clean-up and restoration. This was not a settlementproposal, as it was characterized in the story.

The Wisconsin departments of Natural Resources and Justice and the U . S .Environmental Protection Agency and U .S . Department of Justice and othersare involved in these negotiations.^The governor's office is not involved,as the story implied. It would be wrong to use outdated data from oneparagraph in a memo in an attempt to characterize discussions between thecompany and state and federal regulators.

The state is dedicated to ensuring the Fox River is cleaned up and torequiring the companies that caused the pollution to pay for the amount ofthe associated costs. No deals have been signed and no settlement isimminent, largely because none can be signed until the DNR issues itsclean-up proposal that includes the final costs for the project . As DNRSecretary George Meyer has declared repeatedly, no agreement will be signedthat does not require the responsible parties to cover their share of thecost of clean-up.

When all is said and done with this project, it will be clear that theFox River will be effectively cleaned at a cost borne by those responsible,not the taxpayers. To suggest otherwise is simply wrong. . . .

- Kevin Keane, executive assistant to Gov. Tommy Thompson, Madison8* * * * * * * * * * NEXT STORY * * * * * * * * * * j j

Metropolitan Desk; Section B ''Experts Look to Old Mill for Answers to Pollution of Hudson

By KIRK JOHNSON01/ 16/2001 The New York Times Page 1, Column 3 c. 2001 New York Times

CompanyHUDSON FALLS, N .Y . , Jan. 9 — For decades, the crumbling limestone walls

of the old Alien Mill concealed a secret. Deep inside, a 150-year-oldtunnel and a long-forgotten wooden gate that were part of the mill's earlyIndustrial Era water-power system on the upper Hudson River were slowlyrotting away into the earth.Finally, in 1991 , the gate failed. A reservoir that had built up in the

tunnel — a foul stew of PCB ' s , solvents and oils that had seeped throughthe porous shale bedrock from the General Electric capacitor factory justup the riverbank — surged into the Hudson.

The Leadine Voice of Green Bay and Brown County

THE;N BAYNews-Chronicle

www.gogreenbay.com ^ TUESDAY, JANUARY 16, 2001Mover does job the sameno matter who appoints himHe opposed making the DNRsecretary a Cabinet post, and hemisses the public intervenorWisconsin Department of Natural

Resources Secretary George Meyer says heand Gov. Tommy Thompson have an under-standing that the governor will not getinvolved in any enforcement in any regulato-ry decision under the DNR's jurisdiction.

"The day that would occur would be thelast day I spend as secretary," Meyer said in awide-ranging interview with the News-Chronicle.

Meyer, who was appointed by the stateNatural Resources Board in February 1993and then reappointed when the appointmentof his position was shifted to the governor in1995, said he opposed making the job aCabinet post.

But the secretary said he makes decisionsno differently now than he did in 1994.

Two of Thompson's most controversialactions on the environmental front were

changing theappointment of theDNR secretary andeliminating the pub-lic intervenoroffice, which hadthe legal authorityto challenge actionsby state agencies orthe Legislature thatcould hurt the envi-ronment.

The intervenor was also eliminated in1995.

"Now there is no avenue except for envi-ronmental groups to challenge those in court.

Meyer

Unfortunately, they can't afford to do it,"Meyer said.

"That probably makes the best case thereis for the public "intervenor's office beingrestored.'*

Meyer said he is certain the public inter-venor would be playing a role in the FoxRiver cleanup and the proposed Crandonmine, the two biggest environmental issuesfacing Northeast Wisconsin today.

"I surely wouldn't mind to have the publicintervenor in that case looking over ourshoulder, looking at what we've done," hesaid.

"I think it would add to the credibility ofthe process.''

The News-Chronicle 'a Q&A-style inter-view with DNR Secretary George Meyerbegins on Page 5 of this morning's newspa-per.

t-Ilifr

THE GREFN BAY NEWS-CHRONIU.E LOCAL Tuesday, January 16. 2001 5

"It's pretty hard to gelpeople to understand orfocus on things that willimpact them 10, 20 or 50years down the road."

George MeyerDNR wcntary

DNR SECRETARY QEORQC NEVER has been Involved In a variety ol contnDversial decisions during hisnearly a decade of leadership at the agency.Meyer maintains hisindependence as DNR chief

\ Regarding interference fromt the governor: "The day thatI would occur would be thet last day I spend as secretary"I MADISON — For nearly a decade.George Meyer has been the leader of ihe{tile's Department of Natural Resources, thechief regulatory agency for practical ly everyenvironmental issue in the state.• Meyer. a graduate of St. Norben College,has led the depanmeni since 1993. and heSpent his first year on the job meeting with[ 240 groups to talk about

land-use pi.inning -jt ihecounty level . Now he'sproud to say I hat Wiscon-sin leads the nation inland-use programs and'eads 'n conservation gen-erally

Hunting permits, farmdischarge and smokestacks each go throughhis department, and it's a tiustceship he saidhe has enjoyed holding.

A 28-year veleran of the department, thenature of Meyer' 1; posit ion changed s l ighl lywhen a 1995 budget swi t ch thai nude thesecretary a governor-appointed position, tak-ing the appointment power away from thestate Natural Resources Board. It's a switchthat still brings cr i t i c i sm, hut one Meyerinsists has not affected his department at all

Meyer sat down in his office with /Vpw v-Chrnnn-ff reporter J«ff Decker for a wide-ranging interview aboul the issues facing the

DNR and the politics of the environment.You *ay Wisconsin has become the

nation'* leading state In conservation. Canyou list some examples?

Sure. There's been great progress m near-ly every area.

From 1991 to 1996, there was an increaseof 206,000 acres of preserved wetlands inWisconsin. We're the leading stale in termsof ihe removal of dams, which improvesspawning conditions and habitats for fish andfisheries. There have been big improvementsin water quality all across the state.

There were 20.(XK) contaminated siies in199(1; we cleaned 12,000 of those in the last10 years Our goal over the next 10 years isto reduce those to 1.000 or less.

We. by far. are the leading state for recy-cling and composting. Nineiy-seven percentof the people do it every day in their ownhomes, but 1 don't think you can ever get thatto 100 percent. The answer is reducing wastein the firs! place, reducing packaging

You say that Wisconsin's nonpoint-source pollution program Is the country'soldest?

We stalled in I97X. We spend $20 millionon fanners in local proups lo reduce nonpointemissions. Within the next year there will bemore requirements for nonpoint runoff... thatwill be Ihe most comprehensive program inihe nation

Do you think global warming Is beingtreated seriously enough, and should the

United Stats* have ratified the Kyotoagreement?

It wasn't a perfect agreement, but weshould have shown leadership and ratified itHow do we go to China and India and lellthem they need to reduce their emissionswhen we don't and we're the world leader?

A real solution is to provide financialassistance and technical assistance, andthrough world trade opportunities to enablethem to develop their emerging economy

It's pretty hard to get people to understandor focus on things that will impact them 10,20 or 50 yean down the road.

Might attemativ* energy sources be ananswer?

We're a big supporter of alternative cncrgy. We would not support ihe expansion ofhydroelectric power because of its effect onriven and spawning.

We're supporting emerging technologylike fuel cells and other things that havereduced emissions. There is a public benefitscharge that is on all of our utility bills thaigoes to the Energy Bureau, partly for thoseprojects. We have to continue to look atthings like fusion and other energy mixes

Will Wisconsin lake the lead here, andmatyb* build a solar panel dome over all ofMadison?

There would be some problems with ihat .We would have to do an impact statement onthat.

Do you see population growth as a

main drive behind environmental prob-lems?

Clearly the impacts of the population onthe earth are very significant, but it's aUo alifestyle issue. Between 19KO and 1990, therewas a 3 percent growth in population insoutheast Wisconsin, but there was a 50 per-cent growth in the land used to house ilienv

Let's talk politics. 11 major campaignfinance reform was approved, would Wis-consin's environment be managed differ-ently?

My observations as a government officialfor 30 years is that there is an impact of cam-paign finances on what policy choice1- -vcmade

ill relomi had alrcad\ happened). I ilunkwe would be further advanced on mercurvissues. I think as a state we would have donemore on greenhouse gas issucv

The DNR and U.S. Fish & Wildlife Ser-vice have two very different compensationplans for PCS damage to the Fox River.Why isn't there one cooperative plan?

We did nol receive some of the keyreports until the public did of how thc> Ii;nnkite the damages into what ihe> ' ie poms: uibe aOced lor in terms of compensation.

We would Mi l l l ike lo woik together w i t hI hem. but how can we be partner* in sonic-thing thai we haven't had input m?

If we sett le the state resources, they can ' Iclaim those under their document If llm

Please see MEYER, Page 6

'XbCAL

MEYER: DNRchief wouldn't mindpublic interveiiorFROM PAGE 5ends up in court, that's not going tohappen for five or 10 years/'

Fort James CorpHias never indU' cated to us that they 6»n,',t Afford topayavhat is necessary to replace the

>>-.use^of-the resource or what s been |> lost in'ierms of the habitat/: • jv'-,. ;If it'came lo a situation• ''they couldn't afford lo do bpjh.iljei.-./would Wani to make sure th,ati• i cleanup^ook place '••''•' :jjr$v)iKj$;\^-?ii"»u'rvey'ln;8p;ring«howiii3 Tha' abiyfliaV^ the bestthai 91 percent of DNR emplpy-i :';*»« thereis. for.Ihepublic interees.feel your position should qo •; 'vehdr'Sj-bffice being restoredbe appointed by the governor,1* ", . I'm sure the public JntcfvcnotWhat do you think? * • -.'jfoafli! would be,fnvolv«l in the Fox R

It doesn't^make any difference VmatteKThepubiic'imervenor had^-how I ihink.-That's a policy i'ssue^ - >been involved jn the Crandon mine" for the Legislature.'- " ' ' v:''"*ri''' issue, and I think in a construaive

' When this passed in 1995 , 1 , • manner. • ;' "" :" .''';'•"fought very har3 lo keep the system . J surely, wouldn't'niind to have!

. a board-appointed position as did,'»4 thepublicsjiitervenor in thai case [' Herb Behnke, who was chairman of .--looking ovpr pur shoulder, looking-.fl the DNR board at thai'time. We H 'at what we>e'done. I Ihink it £'' lost by one vote tn both houses of "*•'. would add 10 the credibility of the* *-

the Legislature. '. . "• process.'-f "' ' • ^ '• :>I have not changed my position ; '(Otherwise) what they should do

on lhai issue at all. • js say th.at any side Iliat sues on aniterwironmental issue gets their coststto'^qu have a response to\ «%aid forjf they win. :> r -: ^ " • - ' J|allegations that the governor hasu fi ' i - - ^ .- ' • • : • • • -i ;sloo strong an influence on DNR H": "A lot of environmentalists *policy? ' ' have said that the "Bad Actor"1 don'l mak- decisions any dif- law it not enforced as strictly asfeieml> than I did in 1994 It should be. What determines

"•' " He and I have a clear under-'' *-• "iwnen the DNR writes rules tostanding on this He is not involved Implement legislation?1 in any enforcement in any regulate^~"( lt ^"V depends on the law andry decision; and the'day that would"^-how it went through the Lcgisla-occur would be the last day I spend 'ture- If'<in f^1 the law was a 8ener-as secretary ' ''''•''•''•! statement, if it was passed with-- • ! • • • • ' outa l o t o f debate a n d there's, some

' Do you feel the public Inter-•'• -"'"Wi* *« need to be filled, we'll' venor's office should be given lui':sV'vmie rules.-,.'; -I -.'power back? ' ' " ' ' " ( > "i"t*t;.ln the case of the mining mora-

' -In the '1960s, the public inter- ":nl1orium law, for example, an amend-• venor was created because there'""'Wment was made lo (require the'was a concern that if you had the: s it (Same mine to have been both oper-< :old conservation functions of fishi"*&' (ted for 10 years and closed for 10cries and wildlife merged into the^tv»ryeare), and it was defeated. It clear-environmental regulatory agency .il' k-ly connotes two mines,the fish and-wildlife managers' T"".t 1MV> fThat'a the way the law reads,wouldn't have a fair say in regula--'>f-*!very clearly. That isn't just ourlions. • ••• • • i rttifjr;*! opinion, we asked the lawyers in

In fact, over the years the publiCfl-Mhe Legislative Reference Bureauintervenes had more of a role in n, 4,^that drafted the law.other areas.' One is making sure that ~V' We are not superior to the legis-other agencies do not undertake * -Hattire in terms of setting what theactivit ies that cause environmental ..v Jaws are. - .:• That's not what the Legislature

• thought they had passed. That's• where we have a situation wherethere's a mine in the desert, there'sI mine in the mountain, and a minein the permafrost in Canada.

• We told them from the first daythat unless it was narrowed to the

•" same geologic formation a.s theCrandon mine, that the mine exam-ples that were given us would not

• ' • b e helpful in us being able to regu-'•'- late the Crandon mine.

problems: secondly, and more fre- •quently in recent years, that t h e - - -state Legislature does not undertakeprojects that cause environmentalproblems. ' ' - ' . - ' . .

The courts have ruled that the "' *DNR cannot challenge the Legisla-ture in court because we're a cre-ation of the Legislature.

It used to be lhat the publicintervenor took on those kinds ofthings. Now there is no avenueexcept for environmental groups to

Wisconsin Tissue Mills saresolves antitrust conceriPost-Crescent staff

NEENAH - The former WisconsinTissue Mills was sold today to Swedishpaper giant Syenska Cellulosa Aktiebo-laget along with a portion of Georgia-Pacific Corp.'s commercial tissue manu-facturing operations.The sale is valued at $850 million andis expected to be completed during firstquarter 2001, with proceeds being usedto repay debtThe sale will satisfy an agreementbetween Georgia-Pacific and the U.S.Department of Justice that resolved thedepartment's antitrust concerns associat-ed with the company's acquisition of

Fort James Corp.Georgia-Pacific agreed to diveexisting commercial tissue busincluding about 368,000 tons ofmanufacturing capacity and asso>converting facilities, and sales andketing functions."This divestiture will not only awith our consent decree with the JDepartment, but also is a necessarforward in Georgia-Pacific's transftion strategy," said A.D. "Pete" C<chairman and chief executive offkGeorgia-Pacific.SCA produces absorbent hyPlease see TISSUE,

A.

TISSUE: Company sells millsFrom A-1products, corrugated packagingand graphic papers. It providesproducts to private consumers,institutions, industry and theretail trade. The companyemploys 34,000 people in 40countries, and reported $5.5 bil-lion Si sales in !9?9."," Wisconsin Tissue Mills wasacquired by Georgia-Pacific in a1999 joint venture with Chesa-peake Corp. The venture, com-bined with G-P's other commer-cial capacity, was named Geor-gia-Pacific Tissue. Under theterms of the joint venture agree-ment, Chesapeake will be enti-tled to a payment of about $218million to cover deferred capitalgains.-', Georgia-Pacific will retain allcommercial tissue facilitiesacquired in the Fort Jamestransaction. Following thedivestiture, Georgia-Pacific willoperate about 940,000 tons ofcommercial tissue manufactur-

ing capacity and associated con-verting facilities. The companyalso will retain its proprietarycommercial tissue dispensingsystems and a commercial tissuefacility in Mexico.In addition to Neenah andMenasha, the facilities beingsold are located at Alsip, 111 . :Bellemont and Flagstaff, Ariz.,Brattleboro, Vt.; Greenwich,N.Y.; Gary, Ind.; and LaGrange,Ga. The commercial tissue busi-ness being sold employs about2,200 people.The Wisconsin Tissue trans-action is subject to finalapproval of the U.S. publicauthorities, which is expected

. within the next few weeks.The acquisition includesrights to such brand namesCoronet, Mainstreet, SecondNature and Park Avenue. Inaddition, SCA is taking overGP's sales force that covers theentire U.S. market, including thecustomer service center inNeenah.

The Leading Voice of Green Bay and Bro^vrt County-

www.gogreenbay.com • .JANUARY 26-28, 200 ifImpatience growingover PCB cleanup delaysMeanwhile, the releasedate of a federal/statecleanup plan is pushedback again

By Jeff DeckerThe News-Chronicle

Residents of Northeast

Wisconsin are tired of delays toremove PCBs from the Fox Riverand want a strong remediationplan right now, according theClean Water Action Council, andthey have 10,000 signatures onpetitions to prove it.

But a U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency official saidThursday that the plan will be

delayed another month or two.Constant delays have become

unacceptable, and each yearwhile studies are conducted anddebated, animals and humanssuffer continued effects of PCBpoisons, Rebecca Katers, execu-tive director of the council, saidat a news conference outside theBrown County Courthouse.

"A partial, or slow, cleanup ofthe Fox River is not acceptable,"Katers said. "This petition showsthe public is eager for a fullcleanup of the Fox River."

The petition, circulated fromOshkosh to Sturgeon Bay, readsin part, "We, the undersigned,want the Fox River cleaned up as

Please see CLEANUP, Page 4

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DNR secretary addresses $7M PCB agreementBY KEVIN NAZE

George Meyer recalled when bewas a senior at St. Norbert Col-lege in 1969. the worsUhing that*could happen was to get throwninto the Fox River,"One of two things would hap-pen," said Meyer, addressing agathering of Trout Unlimited'members last week in Qreen Bay.'- ..,"You'd get an ear Infection, or vanyou'd get a rash.1' ',. *Meyer spent the first part ofthe day — his eighth anniversaryas secretary of the Departmentof Natural Resources—at the In-auguration of a new governor,then drove north to address con-cerns about a $7 million naturalresources damage agreement the

first tp settle.but the fact thatItUpproaohedthe;: DNR hadTrout Unlimitv>ed -JBjemberswondering ifthe state movedtooquidcly"vThey«aiditwas forness reasons,(tbemerg- SpototoltoutUnNmHedi, . ^ jer) fexdon,v Meyer said.The «Z million settlement is by'far the largest instate history.''•• "We believe it's at least compa-rablfl loi if not better than, we'dhave dour |n court and afteryears of litigation,? Meyer said.Natural Resources DamagesDNR reached with the Fort (Agreementcoordinator Greg HillJames Corporation in November'told the crowd that? the state ex-for Us share of the damages ''pected to get another $30 to $40caused by the discharge of poly* million combined from the other" " ' six responsible parties,-Meyer said that the DNR andU.S. Irish and Wildlife Servicechlorinated biphenyls into theFox River. • '•"The only thing that lived (inthe Fox) were carp, and they were* ''have 4 serious disagreement" in

River."While we are clearly con-cerned about damages, from dayone, the No. 1 priority we'vetaken is the cleanup of the river,"Meyer said. "Every year we loseabout 600 pounds of PCBs intothe bay."Responding to criticism thatnegotiations with the responsibleparties are done behind closeddoors, Meyer said the public al-ways has a chance to be beard be-fore a settlement la final"This Is a big lawsuit," Meyersaid. "There are negotiationsgoing on all the time. It's verycostly and controversial,"Under its terms, Georgia-Pacificwill buy and transfer ownershipto the state of about 700 acres ofland adjacent to Green Bay, pro-vide funding for projects to im-prove water quality in the lowerFox River and Green Bay, providefunding toward the design andconstruction of Island 3 of theproposed Cat Island Chain onGreen Bay and fund approximate-ly 10 recreational projects aroundGreen Bay and the Fox River.It will also provide funding tobreathing at the top," Meyer said; -terms of how much, damage haso f his.daysatSt.Norbert."Todaj!;Lf'been:done.i:WShas-prppo8ed . „ . , _ • .the water quality has improved^ $200*mmioifcto4300>mlllion*in expand the Wild Rose fish hatch-dramatically, but there are stlll*f damages; JbtttiMeyee/said,*the $ery'.to increase spotted muskieproblems with PCBs. The citizens^F,WShasJUhltfoi-y^ of-jii s}ng^rearingrcapabUlry,ft)^Green Bayhave been harmed,*and the re *xtremely~* teh^^^sources have beenharmed.",.\;S*» ,throughout.the«ountry/ania;;then quested money for commercial— • - - • • - - - - • -«'r^!.j_i-,•,—iin—xw^in—-*~ ~-'*kn"'"li'*>'>•' fishermen to net undesirablecarp and white perch from thebay, but Lower Fox River WaterBasin Team. Leader GeorgeBoronow of the DNR in Green

Fort James; now part of Geor-i Settling for ID icents on die-dollar,.gia-PacfficCorp., is one. . _ _ , , _ _ , . , , . , _responsible parties involved in, tion to:what Meyer said-would be,the cleanuptend damage restora^ Y'liundreds-of millions of dol<:

What's nextA 60-day public comment peri-od on the agreement with FortJames concludes Feb. 21. Com-ments will then be reviewed andincorporated into the agreementto the federal court for approval.Written comments on theagreement must be postmarkedby Feb. 21 and submitted to: GregHHI, NRDA Coordinator, Wiscon-sin DNR, P.O. Box 7921, Madison,Wl 63707-7921.

Bay said studies have shownthat's not feasible."White perch are the most abun-dant fish in the bay, and carp arealso very abundant," Boronowsaid. "Not only-would it be ex-tremely costly and difficult to do,if you start harvesting millions ofwhite perch, you're going to har-vest what little is left of the yellowperch and do extreme damage."A better idea, Boronow said, isto remediate the PCB problem Inthe river. Then, when PCB levelsdrop in the fish, commercial net-ters could harvest them. He admit-ted that could take quite a few..' 'r

tion of thq Fox, River, ft was .the \, ]ara.;v in .cleanup coststto thejox

Gard to propose splitting DNR into two agenciesBY SCOTT HILDEBRAND

PRESS-GAZETTE MADISON BUREAUMADISON — An influen-

tial state legislator todaywill announce a plan to splitthe Department of NaturalResources into two agencies.

Rep. John Gard, R-Peshti-go, said Tuesday that hisproposal would create an en-vironmental quality depart-ment and a separate depart-ment to oversee parks,forestry and recreation.

"I always thought the DNRencompassed a big area andshould be broken down,"said Bob Garfmkel, owner ofBob's Bait and Tackle ofGreen Bay. "It could makethings more efficient, but italso could lead to more bu-reaucracy"

Gard, co-chairman of theLegislature's Joint FinanceCommittee, said he will tryto make his proposal part ofthe 2001-03 budget.

"We need to have a differ-

• Bazzell appointedto lead DNR, B-6______ent type of agency," he said."People need to know wheretheir money is going andwho is accountable for whatactivity."He planned to unveil moredetails today at the 2001Statewide Parks SystemConference in Stevens Point.Card's plan may be new,but the concept is not. In the1999-2000 legislative session,

lawmakers proposed divid-ing the department into oneinvolved in environmentalprotection and another incharge of fish, wildlife andrecreation programs. ,Gard said sportsmen andparks users, through variousfees, support DNk activitiesthat provide them with fewbenefits. He also said somedepartment programs needa higher profile.

"We are going to giveparks, forestry, and fish and

wildlife a much more visiblerole in Wisconsin govern-ment," he said.Sen. Robert Cowles, a

member of the Senate Envi-ronmental Resources Com-mittee, said he would beopen to Card's plan if itcould save the state money.But it probably would in-crease costs, said Cowles, R-Allouez.

DNR officials could not bereached for comment onCard's proposal.

.

Newly appointed DNR; 'secretary,-media 6SfV0 15? media 6S Wisc°™n Govrscotl. talks wrth^students Tuesday In Milwaukee.

wf AUSO-^- r ' " . . i _McCallum takes aim at DNR secretary ui Cabinet shakeupGovernor is expectedto name appointmentto replace Meyer today

MILWAUKEE (AP) - Gov.Scott McCallum will replace Natural.Resources Secretary George Meyerwith the agency's deputy secretary.McCallum is expected toannounce today he will promote Mil-waukee native Darrell Bazzell toDNR secretary.

The governor also was expected toreappoint state Tourism SecretaryRichard Speros and Jane Hojan-

Clark as secretary of the Higher Edu-cational Aids Board.McCallum respects Meyer, "butthe governor wants to bring in somemembers of his own team," said astate government source.McCallum took office Thursdaywhen Tommy Thompson resigned tobecome President Bush's health andhuman services secretary.His choice of Bazzell, 42, is thebiggest change in Cabinet secretariesso far.

State Revenue Secretary GateZeuske is resigning and Joe Leean,secretary of the state. Department of

On the WebWisconsin Department of NaturalResources: www.dnr.sfate.wi.us

InsideRevenue secretary turns to life in

the private sector / A-6

Health and Family Services, hasretired.Bazzell declined to commentMonday about McCallum's appoint-ment. Meyer, 53, did not return callsto his office.

^"r^trr^f.-.Trfrlsi

Bazzell, as the state's top environ-mental protection officer, wouldinherit some contentious issues,including negotiations over the PCBcleanup of the Fox River, a pendingapplication for a mineral mine in theCrandon area and Perrier's plan tosell Wisconsin water.In 1995, Thompson pushed theLegislature to change state law toallow the governor to appoint theDNR secretary. Before that, a citi-zens board made the decision.Democratic legislators pledgedlast week to restore the old way ofnaming the DNR secretary.

MeyerDNR chief's

likely successorwill be Darrell

Bazzell, aMilwaukee

native.

'"."i '

B-€i * WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 7,2001 GREEN BAY PRESS-GAZETTELocal/State

Surprise, support accompany]Bazzell's DNR appointment-* - —7 _ x? / * r i

. BY SCOTT HILDEBRANDPRESS-GAZETTE MADISON BUREAU

MADISON — A wide range ofreactions greeted Gov. Scott Mc-Callum's appointment Tuesday ofDarrell Bazzell as secretary of theDepartment of Natural Resources.Some people familiar with theworkings of the DNR said thechange at the top of the agencysurprised them. They wondered ifBazzell can handle the many diffi-cult issues facing the departmentpthers expressed support forBazzell's appointment and confi-dence in his ability to run themassive agency, which has 2,900employees.Bazzell, 42, replaces GeorgeMeyer, who headed the DNR since1993.:Bazzell has served as deputysecretary, of. the agency since 1996.GreenRBay sport fishermanFrank Her res said the changewould have made more sense, If,McCallurn, a Republican, had suc-ceeded a'Democratic governor-McCallum last week took overfor Republican Gov. TommyThompson, who was appointedU.S. secretary of health andhuman services.''It shocked me," Herres said. "Itwas done by a new governor ofthe same party. It creates quite abit of confusion."

Herres said Bazzell will have tobe a quick study on important is-sues, including the Fox Rivercleanup and the presence of con-taminated white perch in GreenBay. "There are so many prob-lems, and we had a working rela-tionship with George Meyer," hesaid. "We don't know how the newguy is going to operate."State Sen. Robert Cowles, amember of the Senate Environ-mental Resources Committee, alsohas questions about the eventualimpact of Bazzell's appointment.Cowles, R-Allouez, said he wassatisfied with Meyer's job per-formance and wondered whatcould be gained by replacingMeyer with his deputy. "I don'tknow what they're up to," CowlesogH of the McCallum administra-tion. "All I know is that GeorgeMeyer did an excellent job."Herbert Behnke of Shawano, amember of the state Natural Re-sources Board, doubts that the ap-pointment of a new secretary winlead to many changes.Behnke said McCallum replacedone strong administrator with an-other. "You hate to see GeorgeMeyer go, but Darrell is an excel-lent appointment," Behnke said."He's a straightforward and hon-est guy. He understands the work-ings of the department"

McCallum said Bazzell becomes |the highest-ranking black in a |governor's Cabinet in Wisconsin |history jThat news was greeted favor- \ably by Rodney Cotillier, vice pres- \ident of the Northeast WisconsinAfrican American Association."Personally, I think if s fabulousthat we're getting the opportuni-ties for growth that we didn't have Iin the past," he said.Cotillier said it is unlikely thatBazzell would have remained asdeputy secretary for the past fiveyears if he was not capable ofhandling the department's top job."Five years as the No. 2 man, heshould be qualified," Cotilliersaid. "He knows the ropes and \knows the game"William Nabak, general manag-er o£ the Green Bay Water Utility ,was contacting legislators' offices •Tuesday afternoon to get more in- .formation about Bazzell.Nabak said the utility's dealings ;with the DNR under Meyer were \incomplete. The major issue be-tween them has been aquifer stor-age and recovery, a state-of-the-arttechnique for storing treated Lake ?Michigan water underground so !more is available during periods Iof peak demand. J"We certainly have .a lot of <things on the table," Nabak said. •

LOCAL Wednesday, February 7, 2001 3

Auodated Pr«* photoNEWLY APPOINTED SECRETARY of the Department of Natural Resources Darrell Bazzell. right, speaksto reporters as Wisconsin Gov. Scott McCallum, left, talks with students at North Division High School inMilwaukee on Tuesday. Bazzell is a graduate of the school.

incomingNAME: Darrell Bazzell.AGE: 42.POSITIONS: Named Tues-day as Department of Nat-ural Resources secretary.Served as DNR deputysecretary since 1996 andadministrator of the DNROffice of Planning andAnalysis, 1993 to 1996.COLLEGE: Graduate ofUniversity of Wisconsin-Madison.PERSONAL: Milwaukeenative, graduate MilwaukeeNorth Division High School.

OutgoingNAME: George Meyer.AGE: 53.POSITIONS: Departmentof Natural Resources sec-retary since 1993. Led theDNR Enforcement Division,1980 to 1993. DNR staffattorney, 197210 1980.COLLEGE: Graduate of St.Norbert College; lawdegree from University ofWisconsin-Madison.PERSONAL: New HolsteinnativeNew DNR chief an unknown tolawmakers, environmentalists

The change addsmystery to the FoxRiver cleanup andcompensation plans1- >- Of

By Jeff DeckerThe News-Chronicle

No one in Northeasl Wisconsinseems to know just what the depar-ture of George Meyer as secretaryof the Department of NaturalResources will mean, or how newlyappointed Secretary Darrell Bazzellwill approach the numerous envi-ronmental issues that are in theircritical stages.

Bdzzell. 42. who has served asdeputy secretary of the DNR since1996, was named Tuesday by Gov.Scott McCallum to head the agency.

He becomes the highest-rankingblack in the cabinet in state history,the governor said

"(Meyer) ^id a great job as sec-retary and I hope the new guy doesas good a job as he did," said stateSen. Rob Cowles, who sits on theSenate Environmenta l ResourcesCommittee.

Cowles said he had met Bazzellmore than once, but that he couldn'tpredict what the change wil l meanfor the depanment or the environ-menl.

Rep. John Ryba, D-Green Bay,

said, "I don't know the guy fromAdam, so I'll have to wait until Imeet with him."

"This gives (McCallum) a freshstart with his own person," saidRebecca Katers, executive directorof the Clean Water Action Council."He can shed all the baggage ofwhat Thompson did, but we don'tknow who this new person is andwhat his marching orders are."

In 1995 Thompson led a changein the stale budget that put the DNRsecretary in his cabinet, and McCal-lum is the first governor to replace aDNR secretary.

"(Meyer) was the last secretaryappointed by the DNR Board." saidKaters. She said that gave him alevel of independence that Bazzell

* won't have."He was a career DNR staffer

who rose through the ranks andknew the agency very well," shesaid. "Even though we disagreedwith him, he at least knows whatthe situation is." Meyertook thejobin 1993 after 30 years with thedepartment.

Katers said she was glad to hearMeyer come out against policydecisions by Thompson, but thatthose may have played into hisbeing replaced.

"Meyer had been making state-ments over the last several monthson how he supports restoring thepublic inlervenor's office, and we

know that's angered a lot of Repub-licans," she said. '

That office had lost its power tosue the government in the 1995budget. '

What Bazzell's appointmentmeans for Northeast Wisconsin isunknown, Katers said,'but she didsay the appointment so soon after'McCallum's inauguration couldmean politics will guide the office.

"If they were accountable direct-ly to the public, that would be onething, but if they are accountablethe governor's special interests andcampaign contributors, that's boundto impact their judgment on contro-versial natural resource issues," shesaid.

The permitting process over theCrandon mine is continuing, a mul-tim ill ion-dollar cleanup plan for theFox River is set for release inMarch and negotiations over mil-lions in compensatian for PCBdamage lo the river have beenongoing with several 'paper millssince summer.

The outcome of the compensa-tion negotiations, such as the $7million agreement- signed with.'Georgia-Pacific Corp., probablywon't change, said Dennis Hullgrenof Appleton Papers.

"I don't think that's going tochange a whole lot, because (thesecretary) isn't directly involved.It's not only the Department of Nat-

Hojan-Clark Sperosural Resources bul also the Depart-ment of Justice." Hultgren said."George Meyer's assistants are st i l lworking on the deal, and I don'lthink that's going to change oneiota there."

McCallum said Meyer, 53. is hisfnend and wil l have a role in stategovernment, but the governordeclined ro be specific.

"These aren't tenured jobs. It'span of government. Transitions wil loccur." McCallum said.

Meyer. who declined comment.IXiesday. is scheduled to make apublic statement this morning.

McCallum also reappointedRichard "Moose" Speros as Depart-ment of Tourism secretary and JaneHojan-Clark as executive secretaryof the state Higher Education AidsBoard. Speros has been in officesince 1995. Hojan-Clark has beenin office since 1999.

"The Associated Press contributed lothis report.

1

^ s5;£ ;'? j^^^s^i^"--* j^«flLl*^* T-a jt; r"i**4^-^i'ar*fs*'!yrit;^sffi

LoCaV Story http://www.wisconsinstatejoumal.com/stories/local/Iocal2.html

Wisconsin State JournalLOCALFox River deal on hold, says DNRThe $7 million agreement with Georgia-Pacific wasblasted by critics for shortchanging taxpayers.MARCH 14, 2001By Ron Seely Environment reporter

A controversial proposed $7 million settlement withGeorgia-Pacific Corp. over damages for polluting theFox River is being put on hold by the state Departmentof Natural Resources.In testimony before the Legislative Audit Committee onTuesday, DNR Secretary Darrell Bazzell said theagency is suspending final action on the proposedagreement to try and resolve differences with the U.S.Fish & Wildlife Service over the complicated formulasused to calculate a damage assessment.The Fish & Wildlife Service has arrived at a damageassessment of between $176 million and $333 millionfor all seven paper companies that discharged PCBsinto the river.Bazzell also said the DNR is extending the publiccomment period on the agreement to June 20.Previously, the comment period was scheduled to endMarch 21.At issue is the proposed settlement between the DNRand Georgia-Pacific, formerly Fort James Corp., fordamage to the river caused when the paper companylegally discharged polychlorinated biphenyls, or PCBs,until the 1970s. The toxic chemical was used in themanufacture of carbonless paper.Under the proposed agreement, the DNR would creditthe paper company with restoration and recreationalprojects the agency says are worth $53 million.Critics have blasted the proposed damage settlement,which is separate from eventual cleanup agreements, asshortchanging taxpayers and users of the river. Groups

O f 3 03 . ' 14 200 I 9 : 5 1 V

WSJ Locai Story http://www.wisconsinstatejoumal.com/stories/local/local2.htm!

such as Clean Water Action Council, a Green Bayenvironmental watchdog group, have also charged theDNR with negotiating and approving the proposal withno public hearing.The proposed agreement was also the subject of aninquiry by the Legislative Audit Bureau, which found thatthe settlement does not appear to allow changes, eventhough DNR officials and paper company officials haveindicated changes can be made after the close of apublic comment period.Bazzell told members of the Legislative Audit Committeethat, despite the wording of the proposed agreement, itcan still be amended."Certainly the deal is still open," Bazzell said. "I have theright to tear the agreement up at any time and startover." Bazzell later said, "I do recognize the actualsettlement is not clear on that point."Rebecca Katers, executive director of Clean WaterAction Council, testified against the proposed settlementand urged the committee to order a full audit. She saidthe agreement was negotiated with no public input andsettles for an "outrageously" low amount. As anexample, Katers cited two communities along the FoxRiver that are considering pumping drinking water fromLake Michigan because of the pollution."They're looking at spending hundreds of millions ofdollars to pump drinking water from Lake Michiganbecause the Fox River is too polluted," she said.Katers also cited a recent report from the Science andTechnical Advisory Committee of the Lower Fox Riverand Green Bay Remedial Action Plan. The committeeadvises the DNR on science issues related to the FoxRiver cleanup. In a letter Monday to the DNR, thecommittee criticized the proposed settlement withGeorgia-Pacific as "seriously" underestimating thedamages the paper company caused to the river."This is a bad agreement," Katers told the auditcommittee.Also testifying Tuesday were representatives of theBrown County Conservation Alliance who said theorganization approved a resolution opposing theproposed damage settlement because it "fails to

2 of 3 0 3 / 1 4 / 2 0 0 1 9 : 5 1 AM

WSJ LocaFStory http://w\vw.wisconsinstatejoumal.com/stories/local/local2.html

adequately address the harm done, not only to the fishand wildlife, but also to the quality of life for arearesidents."In a joint announcement, the DNR and Fish & WildlifeService said they are planning to meet and discuss howto arrive at a compromise on the damage assessment."We believe in the end these different approaches canbe melded into a common approach," the statementread.Copyright © 2001 Wisconsin State Journal

3 Of 3 03, 1 4 . 2 0 0 1 9 : 5 1 AM

^S^ il isiyi

DNRwillre-examinePCBdeal_Commentperiodextended

BY SCOTT HILDEBRANDPRESS-GAZETTE MADISON BUREAU

MADISON — The state De-partment of Natural Re-sources is re-consideringits deal withGeorgia-Pa-cific Corp. re-lated to PCBpollution oftheRiver, Fox

DNR

the DNRBazzell saidTviesday,Bazzell said the depart-ment is suspending final ac-tion on the settlement withGeorgia-Pacific and extend-ing the public comment peri-od for three months.During that period, theDNR and U.S. Fish andWildlife Service will work toresolve differences over thebest way to restore natural

resources damaged by therelease of PCBs into the Fox."We will make every effortduring this process to strivefor a proposal that would besupported by all parties andmove us closer to cleaningup and restoring the FoxRiver," Bazzell said.The DNR secretary an-nounced the latest develop-ment at a public hearing onan audit of the state's settle-ment with Fort James Corp.for natural-resource damageto the Fox River. Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific re-cently completed a buyout ofFort James.The department negotiat-ed a $7 million deal withFort James to compensatethe public for, damage to theenvironment caused byPCBs, or polychlorinatedbiphenyls. PCBs" were' re:

leased iHto the river byseven area paper mills dur-ing the 1950s, '60s and '70s.The chemicals have beenlinked to reproductive prob-lems and deformities inwildlife, and to developmen-tal problems in children.The settlement has come

Please see DNR, A-2

IP•16

final action,*^^., . ,'* /• * * ' ' 1 ' ' - . ' . , » - : • »

M From A-1under criticism from environ-mentalists, who say it vastly un-derestimated damages to the FoxRiver watershed. They say theFish and Wildlife Service has esti-mated compensation require-ments at $176 million to $333 mil-lion. Fort James share of thattotal has been estimated at 15 per-cent to 30 percent.But in a joint statement, Bazzelland Fish and Wildlife Service re-gional director Bill Hartwig saidall the parties responsible for as-sessing PCB damages will contin-

ue to meet in an attempt to reviewanalytical methods arid resolvedifferences."We believe in the end these dif-ferent approaches can be meldedinto a common approach," thestatement said.

The decision to delay final ac-tion on the proposed settlementreceived a favorable reaction froma local environmentalist and acompany spokesman."It's good news," said RebeccaKaters, executive director of theGreen Bay-based Clean Water Ac-tion Council. "It's definitely animprovement. Maybe it's a face-saving move by the DNR."Georgia-Pacific spokesmanMark Lindley said the company-would be pleased if deferring theproposed settlement leads to amore far-reaching agreement."We have long said a compre-hensive agreement with all par-ties is the best way to go,1' he said;'1The DNR previously extended'th« .publicvcomment period pn. the i i

the commiintipQrioa through June21. . . ; " ' N" ; .-#- • . • • . --A review of the settlement bythe Legislative Audit Bureauraised questions about whetherthe 4eal is subject to change onthe basis of .public comments.But Bazzell said any implica-tion that public comments wouldnot be considered is erroneous.He said all public comments willbe filed with a federal court inMilwaukee, which must approvethe settlement."We always have the option ofjust saying the deal is dead,'1 hesaid.Bazzell also rejected accusa-tions that the Fort James settle-ment was developed in secret: • ';That statement Implies, that we'Fort James settlement one month <,< are choosing' to do something be*to March 21. The additional three* hind closed doors that could bemonth extension will lengthen conducted in public; settings," he

said. "That is completely inaccu-rate and has no basis in truth."The letter of the law has beenfollowed in the settlement pro-cess, he said.But he also said the law allowsfor a private company to be grant-ed confidentiality on communica-tions related to enforcement ac-tions.Katers said she remains dissat-isfied with the DNR's approach topublic involvement. She said theagency has held no public hear-ings on the proposed settlement."They are stifling public discus-sion of this issue," she said. "Butthey've had cozy little meetingswith the company. Who do they'work for?"< Bazzell said the pNR is unlikely ,nito ,hold formal public hearingsduring the extended public-com-ment period. ) •,' •, ••

How to commentCopies of the settlement be-tween the state Department ofNatural Resources and Georgia-Pacific Corp. can be found at theBrown County Central Library,515 Pine St., Green Bay; DoorCounty Library, 104 S. FourthAve., Sturgeon Bay; Oneida Li-brary, 201 Elm St., Oneida; and atthe downtown libraries in Apple-ton and Oshkosh.The settlement is also online atwww.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/lowerfox/Sediment/fjnrdacp.html.Written comments on the settle-ment must be postmarked byJune 21.' Mail your comments to Greg •'-Hill, NRD/V Coordinator, Wlscon- ,sin Department of Natural Re- • 'sources, P.O. Box 7921, Madison,Wl 53707-7921.

rhe Green Bay News-Chronicle O P I N 1 O tl Wednesday, March 14, 2001 11

DNR deal with polluters insults our heritage'THiis is Clean Water Action Council's1 16th year of poking our collectivefinger into the eyes of corporate pol-luters. Our most consuming work forthe last three years has been the Fox

River cleanup. WeCommentary «re disgusted with7 the state Depart-

ment of NaturalResources for itsinsulting settle-ment with FortJames/Georgia-Pacific for damagedone to wildlife,human health andour economy.

The family pho-tos on this pageshow aspects oflocal life in theearly 20th century.Below, my grandfa-. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . (her. Niels JurgenAndersen (front

row, right), is pictured with his co-workers at independent Fishing Co.,circa 1 9 1 8 . This company was one ofabout 30 fishing companies that pliedtheir trade from Green Bay during theperiod from 1897 to 1953 The namesfrom the early years still ring familiar tous: Saunders, Johnson, Shiller; Fisher,Booth, Schober; Fowles, Maricque. Her-mes. Few companies still remain, butonly Maricque and Hermes still fish thebay. This heritage has been destroyed, inpart, by the pollution from the papermills, the mills tell us about all the jobsthey've created but never mention theones they've destroyed. Green Bay's richhistory of fishing is discussed in muchgreater detail in Don StiUer's book, "AMultitude of Fishes."

The three boys in the boat are my sec-

CurtAndersen

For The Green BayNews-Chronicle

ond cousins, circa 1917 , shown after asuccessful duck hunt. Their father, FredSaunders, built boats at his McDonaldStreet shop from 19 10 to about 1954. Inthe background is Hoberg Paper Co.,now Procter & Gamble. There are noboat-building operations on the FoxRiver anymore. Fred's customers, thefishermen, went out of business for tworeasons: pollution and exotic species. Nocustomers, no boats. It is also not a goodidea to eat a duck from the Fox River or

The .mills tell us about all the jobs they've createdbut never mention the ones they've destroyed.the bay. This pastime and food sourcehas been taken from us by the pollutionfrom the paper mills. The PCBs are justthe latest dagger In the heart of the envi-ronment Hive you written a letter to theDNR to complain about the measly set-tlement? Vbnt your outrage! Contact:GregHffl, NRDA Coordinator, WDNR,

PO Box 7921 , Madison, Wl 53707-7921 .Any letter will suffice. You have untilMarch 21 to respond.

It is for these reasons that I ampleased to announce that Sheldon Ramp-ton, a nationally known, investigativejournalist and co-founder of the Centerfor Media and Democracy, will be thekeynote speaker at the 2001 AnnualBanquet of the Clean Water ActionCouncil Rampton and co-author JohnStauber have just released a new book,"Trust Us. We're Experts: How IndustryManipulates Science and Gambles WithYour Future." The book has receivednational acclaim because it unmasksdisturbing and widespread methodsused to influence opinion throughbogus experts, doctored data and man-ufactured facts.

The Clean Water Action Council banquet will be held Friday at the pavilionat Green Isle Park, on the corner ofEast River Drive and Greene Avenue, mAllouez. We will have a vegan menu,plus herb-baked chicken. Tickers ,m-$15 per person ($7.50 for students ) loregister, please contact Rebecca Kale i sat 920-437-7304. Music will be providedby Liam Robinson on the piano and A JKluth on saxophone.

Come and break bread with us andlisten to a sterling presentation of theanti-democratic workings that are oinpon all around us.

Curt Andersen is a lifelong resident cf in.-Green Bay area and a Vietnam-era Na/v .ff r:,.nHe owns a small business and is on Ihe K 311 >'iIhe Clean Water Action Council His colji-inappears here Wednesdays Write 1C rvr" v.ie m»il al curtandersenOmilwpc com

; Unijll T|| •EMfftlj ilCIIUII III nUbll Ua . ***": ~^e Green Bay News-Chronicle,P0 Box 24$?, Green Bay. Wl 54306-2467

Phone: 920-432-2941Fa*: 920-432-8581 I &mall: KStorial.ncObcpdenmark.com

W»b •!!•: greenbaynewschranide com :....v;;New.s-C h ro n ic I o

L O C A LPCB PLAN: Disputesbetween agencies

downplayed by FWSFROM PAGE 1recreational fishing. Wooleydownplayed earlier disagree-ments between the agencies,which began last summer whenthe DNR said its representativeswere not being permitted fullaccess to key documents andplanning.That split was confirmed whenDNR and Department of Justiceofficials began negotiations withFort James, which has sincemerged into Georgia-PacificCorp.Before the dispute, the DNRwas in line to be an equal trusteein the joint plan with the FWS,the National Oceanic andAtmospheric Administration, theOneida, Menominee and LittleTraverse Indian tribes and theMichigan attorney general."We recognize and respect theanalyses done by all of thetrustees,' Bazzell said. "Some ofthe analyses employ differentanalytical methods. We believe inthe end these different approach-es can be melded into a commonapproach."News of the talks was wel-comed by three area environ-mentalists who drove to the hear-ing. Rebecca Katers, executivedirector of Clean Water ActionCouncil, Ronald Vanderloop and

Bob Schmitz, president of theBrown County Conservation Al-liance, had testified against thesettlement.Each said the $7 million figuredoes not consider commercialfishing, boating and other activi-ties that PCB pollution has pre-vented. They also condemnedholding the Fort James negotia-tions, and current negotiationswith six other paper mills, behindclosed doors.The three said that the FWSplan also does not demandenough money for environmentalprojects. -The hearing followed a partialaudit requested by committee co-chairman ! state . Sen. GaryGeorge, D-Milwaukee, - andenabled committee members achance to consider requesting afull audit.Committee member Rep.Mary Lazich, R-New Berlin, saidshe was concerned to learn thatthe DNR declined a FWS offer topay for independent auditors toexamine both plans and suggesta combination.She said she was glad to hearthat cooperation would soon bereached."(Both agencies) just don'thave a meeting of the minds, andthey're very stubborn and per-snickety," she said.

'AGE 3: County deals with finance exodusJ 1 MO

News-Chronicleft!

www.gogreenbay.com * Wednesday, March 14, 2001

Talks resume on jointstate-federal PCB planDefends the state's

$7 million agreementwhile Grafting a new one

By Jeff Decker ' .The News-Chronicle

Department of Natural ResourcesSecretary Darrell Bazzell announcedTuesday that his agency has begun nego-tiations with the federal government toreach a combined compensation settle-

ment for PCB damage to the Fox Riverand Green Bay."With .the agreement of Fort James

Corp., WDNR is therefore suspendingfinal action on the proposed Fort Jamessettlement while all of the parties meet todiscuss these issues, and is extending thecomment period for an additional 90days," Bazzell said at a public hearing inMadison before the Legislative AuditBureau.. Assistant Regional Director of the U.S.Fish & Wildlife Service (FWS) CharlieWooley, said a "cordial" meeting was heldFriday in Washington that planted theseeds to combine the state and federalplans, which had been on a collision

course."We're not going to be able to get thosebenefits.very quickly if we're in court for

the next five, six or eight years," he said.The estimated range the FWS plans to askseven Fox Valley paper mills for is $170 to$303 milkon.

With a state settlement for Fort James'share of the compensation at $7 million,any possible objections raised in courtwould be strengthened with criticismfrom Wisconsin.

The two plans are meant to compensateNortheast Wisconsin for activities lostbecause of the damage from PCB contam-inants released, by paper mills, such as

Please see PCB PLAN, page 4

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Not a happy camperDNR 'S George Meyer adjusts, but his firing still

smartsBy Rob Zaleski

March 3. 2001

Forever the diplomat, George Meyer is seated behinda desk in his cramped new office at the GEF II stateoffice building and still doing his best to put apositive spin on his startling Feb. 6 dismissal assecretary of the Department of Natural Resources.No question, the move by new Gov. Scott McCallumwas a thunderbolt out of the blue, says the53-year-old Meyer. But he wasn't the first DNRsecretary to be "overthrown" in the agency's 72-yearhistory and he probably won't be the last.What's more, since his successor, Darrell Bazzell, 42,happens to be his former protege and one of his bestfriends, the transition couldn't possibly be going anysmoother, he emphasizes.The thing is, he probably would have retired inanother two years anyway, rationalizes Meyer, whonow holds the title of special assistant to thesecretary. And frankly, he says, it's going to be niceto have some time again for his true passions in life— deer hunting and muskie fishing and camping withhis family.

Before he was named secretary in 1993, he and hiswife, Jayne, and their two kids (Andrew, now 22, andJocelyn, 14) would camp out 40 to 45 nights a year.In recent years, it's been more like two or three timesa summer.

"I sleep better in a tent than I do in my own bed," hemuses.Understand, "if this had happened after just three orfour years. I might be thinking, well, what did I do

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wrong? But I've had the greatest job in stategovernment for eight years. We got a tremendousamount of things done. So I feel pretty fulfilled."

Still miffed:But then, less than five minutes into the interview lastweek, the facade comes crashing down and itbecomes obvious that Meyer is still miffed andbewildered by his abrupt firing.He says in a beleaguered voice that he's receiveddozens of calls and e-mails from people who can'tbelieve that the governor would do such a thing to adedicated 30-year employee of the DNR - echoingthe sentiments Meyer's wife expressed in an openletter that recently appeared in both The CapitalTimes and Wisconsin State Journal.Certainly it was within McCallum's authority to firehim, Meyer says.Moreover, "I'm a big boy — and I'm clearly notlooking for sympathy. But a lot of people — myselfincluded, obviously — were upset by how poorly thewhole thing was handled, who felt that the governordidn't use good human relations skills."I mean, as secretary of this agency, I've had to a:!< anumber of people to move on over the years. Butthere are ways of doing it, I think, that are morerespectful to the individual."And it clearly was even more of a shock, Meyer says,considering that he and McCallum have known eachother for nearly 20 years. Their kids, in fact, onceattended the same state day care center."So we were far from strangers," he says. "We weredecent friends."Meyer says the governor's decision was such abombshell that he's still fuzzy on some of the detailsof the Tuesday morning meeting, which lasted nomore than five minutes."You've got to think pretty quickly in a situation likethat — because my first thought was, well, what am Igoing to do now? I mean, I've got a mortgage andthings like that, so I've got to have a job someplace."

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Meyer says that after he and McCallum brieflydiscussed the possibilities, he left the Capitol in adaze. He then got into his car and hurried to his westside home to break the news to his wife, fearing thatshe might hear about it from a radio or TV report."Naturally, she was pretty floored," he says.Then he drove back to his office at GEF II and foundBazzell, who'd just finished talking to McCallum onthe phone and was as stunned as Meyer by thesudden turn of events."He was asking me what to do," Meyer says. "And asI've stated before, I told him, 'Darrell, this isn't aboutyou and it's not about me. It's about the institution.And you've got to take the job. '"

Why the firing?Though McCallum didn't go into great detail about

. . why he decided to fire him, Meyer says that now,some three weeks later, he's convinced more thanever that it essentially came down to just one thing:Meyer's publicly stated views that the NaturalResources Board - not the governor - should appointthe DNR secretary, and that for the good of theagency, the Legislature needs to restore the PublicIntervenor's Office, which former Gov. TommyThompson dismantled with the Legislature'sapproval in 1995.

"It's not as though I've been out rattling sabers orworking the Legislature on those issues. That wasn'tmy place," says Meyer, noting that a bill that wouldreturn the appointment powers to the NaturalResources Board passed the state Senate two weeksago. "But he knew how strongly I felt about them,"he said of McCallum.Meyer is not about to back down now.It is, he says, absolutely critical that the Legislaturereverse the damage that was done five years ago — ifnothing else, out of fairness to Bazzell. Otherwise,Meyer argues, the new secretary will be operatingunder the same dark cloud that Meyer did in recentyears — where every decision he makes is viewedwith suspicion.

Indeed, Meyer says if he had to cite his biggest

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disappointment as DNR chief, it was his inabilityback in 1995 to convince Thompson just howdevastating those changes would be, not only tohimself but to the DNR."He was just adamant on the fact that the governorneeded that direct control," Meyer says. "So I don'tthink he ever appreciated the extent of the impact ithad on the agency and its reputation - or on themorale of its employees. And clearly, GovernorMcCallum doesn't understand it." *Nonetheless, Meyer maintains there wasn't a singleinstance where Thompson abused his authority overthe DNR."And I want to make this clear, so it doesn't getconfused," he says. "There was never a debate overenvironmental regulatory enforcement decisions. Henever, ever directed me to either issue a permit ordeny a permit, to bring an enforcement case or not tobring an enforcement case."At the same time, Meyer says he can understand whyenvironmentalists and others may have had thatperception. And why Democrats couldn't resist usingthat perception for political leverage.

Tommy listened:Meyer insists he and Thompson had some heateddebates on a variety of issues over the last five years.And, yes, Tommy could be overbearing at times —many times even pounding on his desk.But if there was one thing that sets Thompson apartfrom most politicians, it's his willingness to listen,Meyer says."He'd come in from his travels throughout the state.He'd hear X person say the DNR is doing this orwhatever. And his style was, he'd come after youabout stuff like that. He'd say, 'What the heck areyou doing about this?' And you've have tounderstand that's the way he was and not get cowedby that."But then you'd sit back and rationally explain,'Well, here's what wasn't said to you, here's theother side of the issue.' And on policy issues wherewe had disagreements, nine times out of 10 he'd end

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up saying, 'Yeah, that's a great way to go,' or 'I don'tagree with you but, yeah, I can see your point.' "Meyer says the best example of that was aconversation they had on a plane to Washington,D.C., in 1996, during which Meyer stronglyrecommended that they set up a blue-ribboncommittee to study the reauthorization of theStewardship Land Acquisition Program and boost itsfunding to $460 million."He thought about it maybe 10 seconds and said,'Give me some names,' " Meyer recalls.No question Tommy could be difficult, Meyer says.But he says Thompson was one of the first people tocall him and offer moral support after his dismissal,"and I will tell you there's a very strong mutualrespect between him and me."As for his relationship with McCallum, Meyer saysthey haven't spoken a word to each other since theirFeb. 6 meeting."He's still the governor," Meyer says coolly. "I stillrespect the office."

Environmentalists:Meyer says he's the first to admit that his reign washighly controversial at times, and that he andenvironmentalists always seemed to be at odds.Though he rarely took the criticism personally,Meyer says it still hurt, since the Very reason hejoined the DNR three decades ago was because of anintense desire to protect the state's resources.He says it bothers him that environmentalists rarelygave the DNR credit when it took their side on aparticular issue — such as its testimony before thePublic Service Commission that there were betterenvironmental alternatives than the proposed250-mile Arrowhead to Weston transmission linethrough northern Wisconsin."Or let's take the (Crandon) mining situation," hesays. "Nicolet Minerals applied for its permit inAugust of 1993. So that's clearly not a companythat's had a sweetheart deal. In any other state in thecountry, they would have had a decision one way oranother four or five years ago.

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"And how about Perrier? I mean, it's a real joke tosay they got favored treatment. They got the mostrigorous environmental requirements of any highcapacity well ever issued in this state. We went waybeyond what the law required there (in AdamsCounty)."Meyer also notes that he's president of theEnvironmental Council of States and vice presidentof the International Association of Fish and WildlifeAgencies — positions he says he never would havebeen appointed to if his environmental opinionsweren't respected.Still, Meyer says he stands behind every hotlycontested decision his agency made during his tenure,whether it was its support of a hunting season formourning doves — "Why should a Wisconsin hunterhave to go to Illinois or Missouri to hunt mourningdoves? It just doesn't make sense" — or, morerecently, its proposed $7 million damage settlementwith Fort James Corp., one of seven paper companiesresponsible for heavy PCB concentrations in the FoxRiver. (The U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service proposeda settlement in the $200 million to $300 millionrange.)"What people don't understand, I think, is that thosecompanies are going to have to clean up the river,and it's going to cost them hundreds of millions ofdollars to do it — on top of these settlements," hesays, reiterating that the $7 million would be thelargest environmental settlement in state history.Whatever the case, Meyer says that, as unsettling ashis firing was, he at least can draw comfort from thefact that Wisconsin enters the 21st century with someof the strictest environmental regulations in thecountry.

Looming threats:At the same time, he says Wisconsin's resources facea grave threat from two relatively recent phenomena:urban sprawl and global warming."My first year as DNR secretary I gave 240 speechesand land use was the first issue in every speech," hesays. "And what I found is that, even though it was acontroversial subject back then, what I was saying

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was resonating. I'd go into very conservativetownships and I'd give that speech and townchairmen would be nodding."Meyer says he believes those speeches and theDNR's constant warnings about the situation were akey reason the Legislature eventually passed a SmartGrowth initiative. However, considerably more mustbe done, he cautions, or some parts of Wisconsin willlook like one continuous city - similar to the Easternseaboard."Only 30 percent of the municipalities in this statehave comprehensive zoning. And some of those needto be updated with these Smart Growth policies," hesays. "Because sprawl drives everything — non-pointpollution, air pollution, automobile traffic, loss offish and wildlife habitat. Just about every majorenvironmental issue we have is worsened because ofsprawl."As for global warming, Meyer notes that he was a bigskeptic when news reports on the subject first beganpopping up in the late 1980s. But he's spent a lot oftime researching the issue and talking to DNRscientists about it over the last eight years and nowagrees that we'll see, at minimum, a 2- to 4-degreetemperature increase over the next century.Unless Wisconsin acts now, he says, the changescould have a dire effect on our forests, farms andwaterways.Granted, there are still some skeptics out there, hesays - including several environmental advisers toPresident Bush."You're never, ever going to have every scientist inthe world say that there's global warming," he says."But when you get about 95 percent saying that, youmight start to think that there's a problem. And thereis a problem and we need to deal with it."Asked if he has any parting words of wisdom for hissuccessor, Meyer says only that Bazzell should try tomaintain the traditions of a first-class agency and tocontinue to rely on the expertise of its 2,900employees."So my advice would be, just do your job, listen andprovide a strong keel."

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He leans back and forces a grin."And have a thick skin."

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Copyright 2000 The Capital Times

8 of 8 03/ 1 )6/200 ! 1 1 : 5 8 AM

TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 27,2001

MCCALLUM: Governor willhire Washington lobbyist,seek more federal fundsFrom A-1velop urban areas.

"We've identified moreSuperfund sites than any state inthe country and we're constantlylobbying for renewal," New Jer-sey's acting Gov. DonaldDiFrancesco said."We're glad Christie ToddWhitman is in the Cabinet. Wehope she'll be an asset for theNortheast and particularly Newjersey for issues such as that."DiFrancesco, who likeMcCallum is a new governorwho ascended to office when hispredecessor became part ofPresident Bush's Cabinet, saidthey have talked about theirneed to make quick decisions ona variety of issues."I think he's been able tojump in feet first and hit theground running," -saidDiFrancesco.Because of McCallumls quicktransition from lieutenant gover-nor after Gov. Tommy Thomp-son was named, secretary ofhealth and human services, he'sonly begun to address Washing-ton-related issues such asstaffing for .the federal lobbyingoffice a few blocks from the U.S.

Capitol.McCallum must hire a new

Washington lobbyist - the for-mer director joined Thompsonat the Department of Healthand Human Services - and seta state agenda for the congres-sional delegation.

"All of us will be conscious oftrying to capture our share ofthe federal tax dollar and bring-ing it home," McCallum said.

The Northeast Midwest Insti-tute, a Washington think tank,estimates the federal govern-'ment spent $4,305 per person inWisconsin in 1999 - the lowestof the 50 states - and abouthalf as much as top-ranked Alas-ka's $8,521 per person.

On other topics, McCallumsaid he also warned the EPAadministrator of the" need toavoid price spikes when4 refor-mulated gasoline is reintroducedon a seasonal basis this summer.

He also said Wjsconsin needsto participate in a new nationalenergy policy because the statedoes not have enough generat-ing capacity or power lines tomeet future needs.

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McCallumopposesfox planSuperfunddesignationunwanted

McCallumSays courtsget money

BY BRIAN TBMUI.TYPRESS-GAZETTE

WASHINGTON BUREAUWASHINGTON - Gov.

Scott McCallum told the headof the federal EnvironmentalProtection Agency on Mon-day that Wisconsin doesn'twant the Fox River designat-ed a Superfund site for thecleanup of harmful PCBs.Although McCallum saidimproving the state's shareof federal tax revenue is histop.priorityin Washing-ton — one re-cent reportranked Wis-consin 50thamong statesin per-capitaf e d e r a lspending —Superfundmoney is noton his list."We don'twant to go into Superfund,"McCallum said in an inter-view while attending the Na-tional Governors Associationwinter meeting. "We'd like toavoid it because everybodyends up paying into the courtsystem rather than intocleanup."But the state already hasreceived $4 million in federalSuperfund money to helpplan the Fox River cleanup,said Rebecca Raters, execu-tive director of Clean WaterAction Council of NortheastWisconsin.Raters said McCallum'scomments don't reflect localpublic opinion. She cited a1999 poll by St Norbert Col-lege that found 70 percent ofthe people in Brown Countysupported Superfund desig-nation."It would seem very back-wards that he wouldn't un-derstand the benefits of thisfederal program," Raters

PCBs hi the Fox RiverPol/chlorinated biphenyte, -formerly used in carbonlesscopy paper, were released '•into the Fox Rfver from 1957-to 1971. They have been > .linked to reproductive prob- ••lems and deformities in , ewildlife, and to lowered Ids -',and slowed development inchildren exposed to elevatedlevels in the womb.The U.S. EnvironmentalProtection Agency is consid-ering whether to list the riveras a Superfund site.Supertund designationwould provide governmentfunds to start the cleanupand could levy penalties be-yond cleanup costs againstthe paper companiesdeemed responsible for the '"contamination.

said. "We have had IS yeanof official planning, and themain holdup has been the .lack of money to do the de-tailed planning that's neces-sary."The new EPA adminlstraftor, Christine Todd Whitman, ->Is a former governor of NeW'•*Jersey who oversaw her,state's extensive use of Su-perfund site designations to ,redevelop urban areas."We've identified more Su-perfund sites than any statein the country, and we're con-. ,stantly lobbying for renew- ,^al," New Jersey's acting Gat, ^Donald DiFrancesco said Iri .,•an interview. "We're glad-Christie Todd Whitman is In.,,,the Cabinet. We hope she'll ;.'be an asset for the Northeast ,'and particularly New Jersey .jfor issues such as that"DiFrancesco, who like Mo- .',Callum is a new governor «,who ascended to office when .his predecessor became partof President Bush's Cabinet, .,said they have both talked ;:about their need to make "quick decisions on a variety ,of issues, including McCal-lum's decision to release his 'own state budget last week. .'"I think he's been able to .';Please see McCallum, A-2 .

:^ip'':vW«jp<• • • <r , l *---

I*" ~~'McCallum/Says state needs to get more federal money_ _ _ . . I • '"" '- ' ' I ' . . ,- V, ; .- . . - . ' "I From A-1_______ __jump in, feet-first ,and hit,theground running,^; DiPrancescosaid.Because of McCallum's quicktransition from lieutenant gover-nor to governor after Gov. Tommy

Thompson was named secretary of

,{ health and human services, he's| only begun to address Washing-'; ton-related issues such as staffing. for the federal lobbying office a\ few blocks from the US. CapitoLMcCallum must hire a new-' Washington lobbyist T- the formerdirectbr joined Thompson at theDepartment of Health and Human

Services — and set a state agenda, for the congressional delegation. ;.; "All of, us will be conscious of , :trying to capture our share .of the^federal tax dollar and bringing it,"home," McCallum said. '.The Northeast Midwest Insti-,tute, a~ Washington think tank, es^;,'!timates that the federal govern-.

ment spent $4,305 per person inWisconsin in 1999 — the lowest of'the 50 atates,^- and about half asmuchf/as' to|)-rianked'.' Alaska's$8,521 per person.1 •'• 'On other topics, McCallum saidhe alsp warned the EPA adminis-trator of theJ need to avoid price1

spikes when reformulated gaso-

line is reintroduced on a seasonal' basis this summer in Southeast-ern Wisconsin;' ; And he said Wisconsin needs toparticipate in a new national ener-'''gy poliQyrbecause the state does"('1 not have enough generating capac- *' ity or power liines to nieet future •.needs.

Insurer siriiig^friver dieanup tab. 1 rS£&Li ^^e:en^nmentdefcndant

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A Georgia-racmw *IK,™~,said Wednesday company ~...cials could, not comment on thelawsuit because they had notseen itIn November, the DNE.reached a $7 million settlementwith 'the'.papermaker over themill's past pollution of the FoxRiver with the 'industrial chemi-cal PCBs", or polychlorinatedbiphenyls. ' . ' . . " .. The'settlement calls for thecompany to buy wetlands, buildboat landings and make otherimprovements along the river Inexchange, the state agreed not tosue the company for damagescaused by the pollution. ' '. > ; ?

The insurer's lawsuit allegesF9rt Tames is not entitled to cov-erage because the papermakerdid riot give timely notice to theinsurer __

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Patrick Ferron/Press-Gazette• As a few men spend Tuesday ice fishing on the Fox River in De Pere, the state's new Department of Natural Re-,sources secretary said his agency should have a river cleanup plan ready to share with the public by late spring. i\DNR chief agrees with PCB deal——, / L / Cl I ^^ - -' •'-' ' ':_

Bazzell still reviewing Georgia-Pacific settlement [p^ River damageBY SCOTT HILDEBRAND

PRESS-GAZETTE MADISON BUREAUMADISON — Departmentof Natural; Resources Secre-. tary Darreli. Bazzell says hispredecessor took the rightapproach in settling naturalresource damage claimsagainst Georgia-Pacific Corp.However, Bazzell said he

still is reviewing thespecifics of the state's dealwith Georgia-Pacific and isnot prepared to seek similarnegotiations with otherpaper companies responsi-ble for the damage.In an interview Tuesday,Bazzell said he agrees with

the way former DNR Secre-tary George Meyer handlednegotiations with FortJames Corp. to settle dam-age claims related to PCBpollution of the Fox River.Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacif-

"Theidea wasto negoti-ate a;set-tlemeritbased onrecoveringthe damages, but in away that got us to thebottom line and avoid-ed costly and timelylitigation."

— DarreU Bazzell,new DNR secretary

ic since has completed abuyout of Fort James."The idea was to negotiatea settlement based on recov-ering the damages, but in away that got us to the bottomline and avoided costly and

• Bazzell comfortable wttfihigh expectations, A-2 *timely litigation," Bazzellsaid. "It's certainly^ pre-

The federal government has Uparned these seven paper j \ j*;companies as potentially'' j|responsible parties for RGB . ; (damage to the tower Fox River.:!

ly inflating a number andgoing through a lengthy, liti-gious battle with the papercompanies. 1 don't think thatserves anyone well. "Meyer negotiated a $7 mil-lion deal with Fort James tocompensate the public fordamage to the environmentcaused by PCBs, or polychlo-rinated biphenyls. The po-tentially cancerous chemi-cals, used by paper compa-nies in a de-inking process,were released into the riverfrom 1957 to 1971.

PCBs have been linked toreproductive problems anddeformities in wildlife, and

Please see DNR, A-2 Press-Gazette

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. • .DNR^ederal court to Make final decision on pjanH From A-1to developmental problems Inchildren.Rebecca Raters, executive direc-tor of the Clean Water ActionCouncil in Green Bay, was quick tocriticize Bazzell's comments onthe Georgia-Pacific settlement.Katers said even a U.S. Fish andWildlife Service estimate of com-pensation costs is too low. Theservice last year estimated com-pensation costs due from sevenpaper companies, including Geor-gia-Pacific, at between $176 millionand $333 million."1 take strong exception to thestatement that Fish and Wildlifehas artificially inflated those val-ues," Katers said. "If anything,they underestimated the costs."Sees raUonatoSport fisherman Bob LaMay of

Green Bay said he is not 'sur-prised that Bazzell supports theapproach taken by his formerboss on the PCB damage assess-ment. And LaMay said Meyermay have had good reason to pur-sue the negotiated settlement."I don't agree with the amountof money," LaMay said. "ButGeorge might have been right inhis thinking that it's better totake a little than not get any-thing. You'll be fighting them for-ever."Bazzell on Tuesday discussedthe Fox River issue publicly forthe first time since Gov. Scott Mc-Callum appointed him DNR sec-retary last week. Bazzell succeed-ed Meyer, who had served as sec-retary since 1993.The DNR is accepting publiccomment on the Georgia-Pacific isettlement until Feb. 21. A federalcourt will make the final decision

What's nextA hearing on the Department ofNatural Resources' settlementwith Georgia-Pacific Corp. willbegin at 6:30 p.m. Thursday in theNature (Education Center at BayBeach Wildlife Sanctuary, 1660East Shore1 Drive, Green Bay.Copies of the settlement canbe fo^nd at the Brown CountyCentral Library, 515 Pine St.,Green Bay; Door County Library,104 S. Fourth Ave., SturgeonBay; Oneida Library, 201 Elm

St., Oneida; and at the down-town libraries In Appleton andQshkosh. The settlement is alsoonline at www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/lowerfox/Sediment/fjnrdacp.html.Written comments on the set-tlement must be postmarked byFeb. 21. Mail to Greg Hill, NRDACoordinator, Wisconsin Depart-ment of Natural Resources, P.O.Box 7921, Madison, Wl 53707-7921.

on the plan.Bazzell said he wants to reviewthe public response to the settle-ment and research the methodol-ogy that led to the deal"I feel the methodology that'sbeen employed here is the appro-9," he said. "But I'd like

to better understand it before wewould consider similar negotia-tions with the other paper compa-nies."Companto* respondTim Dantoin, public outreachdirector for the Fox River Group

of paper companies, said Bazzelldeserves time to become more fa-miliar with the details of the set-tlement and the Fox cleanup ef-fort."He has a lot of issues on hisplate," Dantoin said. "He's got to,take things one at a time."Most of the DNR's Fox Riverfocus is on development of thefinal cleanup plan, Bazzell said.He said the agency should have aplan ready to share with the pub-lic by late spring.Bazzell described the cleanup ofthe Fox as a significant task."I'm hopeful that the cleanupplan that will be presented to thepublic will provider level ofcleanup that protects humanhealth and the environment andto a level that the public will feelcomfortable with," he said. "Wewant to be able to eat the fishagain."

-

NEWSPAPER'S^DNR changes are wild

Darrell Bazzell, Gov. Scott McCallum'schoice to head the Department of NaturalResources, is an unknown quantity to the

public and even to many involved in environmen-tal issues. Some of those who have met him or seenhim in meetings say he has been a very quietdeputy secretary at the DNR who has kept his opin-ions to himself.

That should change now. If Bazzell and his bosswant to reassure everyone that environmental pro-tection is high on their agenda, the new secretarymust make his positions clear on key issues. Theseinclude — but are not limited to — urban sprawl,mercury levels in state waters,wetlands protection, the Cran-don mine and whether taxespaid on motorboat fuel shouldbe reserved for water protec-tion programs or used to helppay for state highways.

"Surprise" is probably theword

Surprise is probably thebest word to describethe removal of DNR

Secretary George Meyer.that best describes the ~

general reaction — even among the capital's chron-ic whisperers — to the governor's removal thisweek of DNR Secretary George Meyer and theappointment of Bazzell.

Meyer is a longtime DNR .hand and had been

controversies in his tenure. He was as surprised asanyone when McCallum told him last Monday thathe would no longer serve as DNR secretary.

The argument for his replacement is not that hehad done a bad job, but that McCallum wanted his"own team" of cabinet heads. That's understand-able, but it would be more convincing if McCallumwere replacing every cabinet chief.

He is not, which may account for the rumors thatMeyer may have been removed because he hadrecently taken stronger positions than the new gov-ernor on a few issues. Chief among these, it is said,was his. support for the return of public intervenors,___________ who formerly had the inde-

pendent authority to suestate agencies.

The announcement hasspurred renewed interest inmoving the appointivepower back to the NaturalResources Board, makingthe position less subject to

selected by the Natural Resources Board to headthe DNR; he was then reappointed by former Gov.Tommy Thompson after a 1995 law switched theappointment power from the board to the governor.

Meyer had a solid record as DNR chief —although he was a little too soft for some on a fewissues such as the Crandon mine — and had over-seen significant developments as well as several

the political whim of, say, a new governor.It is wrong to categorize Bazzell, another long-

time DNR hand, as a political crony of McCal-lum's. But this is still a political appointment, andit raises the question of whether state residents real-ly want the job to be that political. Such a discus-sion needs to take place soon in the Legislature.

Meantime, McCallum could do Bazzell andhimself a favor by explaining why Bazzell is a bet-ter fit for the job than Meyer. And Bazzell needs tospell out where he stands on the key issues and howhard he will fight for those positions.Milwaukee JiurnalSiQtinel

,Cm* i PublisherJ.Wood: Assoc.Publisher

Tom Brooker: Editor Warn

The Leading Voice of Green Bay and Brown County

THE;N BAYNews-Chronicle

www.gogreenbay.com * FEBRUARY 16- 18 , 2001Audit highlights allegedflaws in state PCB dealState Sen. George wants damage to the Fox River. George spoke Thursday morning at theMcCallum to halt the agreement The release was followed with :——————*.———— Brown County Courthouse.With Georgia-Pacific Corp. a barrage of criticism of the deal >• CltlZCHS 8t Under the agreement, several

and a call from one lawmaker for fMgrf||0 bl8St area parks would receive exten-Gov. Scott McCallum to step in j__i __ ,.mu

s've tra'' systems and boatdeal as well:By Jeff Decker and halt the plan. uom no nvn. launches, 800 acres of wetlandsThe News-Chronicle « « , . . , . , Page 5 near Peshtigo would be bought————————————————————————— The river is dirty, but not as ——————————— and given to the state, a fishery

A , , ., , ._. . K .dirty as the deal between the DNR and Fort would be expanded and payments madeA partial audit was released Thursday that James," said state Sen^ Gary George, D- towards £ reconstmct£/of an islandexamines the ;(>/ million compensation agree- Milwaukee, who ordered the audit. For too cua-n -n t£,e t,avment between Georgia-Pacific Corp. and the long we have worshipped at the altar of busi-Department of Natural Resources over PCB ness development at all costs." Please see PCB DEAL, Page 5

r

THE GRIEN BAY NEWS-CHRONICLE LOCAL February 16-18, 2001 5

Environmentalistsdecry DNR's dealwith Georgia-Pacific

H. M*c Ur*on /TTHE GEORGIA-PACIFIC WEST MILL is a backdrop for a saiboat being stored at a mari-na in AHouez. Environmentalists and at least one state senator are against a proposedstate settlement wtth the papermaker over PCBs in the Fox River.

A tape of Thursday night'shearing will become part ofthe official public record

By Jeff DeckerTT* N«w9-Crtfootcte

Discontented with the lack of a publichearing on The state's S7 million PCB-dam-agc compensation deal with Georgia-Pacif-ic Corp., mvtiunincntalitts held their ownhearing Thursday I" express their dissatis-faction with the plan.

Mute tlian SO people attended the hear-ing nt Bay Beach Wildlife Sanctuary.

Almost 20 of them spoke before a videocamera, and organizers plan to mail the tapeto Madison by ihe end of the public com-ment period regarding the agreementbetween the company and the departmentsof Natural Resources and Justice.

"I am steamed." said Joe Musial ofKewaunee County. "Every sportsman,every fisherman, every hunter, every sailor.everybody's steamed.

"Il's completely ludicrous that Ihe DNRhas come out with such a small amount.(Gov. Scolt) McCallum and (DNR Secre-tary Darrell) Bazzell should resign if this isthe best they've got."

Sieve Abitz of DC Pert is on the board of

directors for the Clean Water Action Coun-cil, which organized the hearing.

"Let's get real." he said. "There are someserious restoration projects around ihe na>.and it ' s going to take some big bucks to »1oit." he said.

Even ihe U.S. Fish & Wildlife Sen-iceplan, which asks for $ 177 million to SWmillion, is not enough, said Larry SimiSfrom Sturgeon Bay, a sociology professor atUniversity of Wisconsin-Green Bay

Commercial fishing is ignored bv N»thplans, as are hunters and passive ouuli>or\people. Smith said.

Some speakers brought in photos or'lamily members fishing or duck hunting on tin-Fox River and the bay.

Many lamented lost fishing and swim-ming opportunities, while others said (he*.missed the fishing and boat-making jobv

"The biggest majority of the neopk-don't have any idea what's going tin. ' -..mlDave Johnson of Green Bay.

He divided $7 million by :on.O(KiBrown County residents to get 135 per \\-\son from the settlement.

"And that's just Brown County!" In-said. "Il's not enough. We have (o fiylii it.and we have to stick together!"

Every speaker was against the agree-mem. DNR and Georgia-Pacific officialswere invited but did not attend.

PCB DEAL: DNR secretary says he supports agreementThose projects arc designed to

compensate residents for losses sus-tained over the decades from PCBcontamination, primarily to recre-ational fishing.

PCBs were released into the FoxRiver by paper mills until the 1970s,and are known to cause reproductiveand neurological damage to humansand animals.

George, who is running for gov-ernor in 2002. ordered ihe partialaudit through his role as co-chair-man of ihe Legislative Audit Com-mittee. Thursday morning he deliv-ered a letter to McCallum and DNRSecretary Darrell Baz7.cU. askingthem to twit ihe provisions of theagreement until the 'many questionsraised about this pact liave beenanswered."

"This ;le:il would never havehappened if I was covemor." liesaid.

George critici7.ed holding thenegotiations in \ecrei. having thestale's, consultants chuscn hy thepaper mills, and ihe dollar ftcuic --which t*e sees as itxi low.

On Tuesday, newly-appointedDNR Secretary Darrell RazztH saul

he fully supports the agreement andthe process will continue.

"If he says that again after he getsa chance to read the audit, then he'smaking a mistake," George said

McCallum spokeswoman LisaHull satd it was unlikely the gover-nor would stop the agreement. Aspart of the deal, the stale scheduleda 60-day public comment periodthat was to have ended Wednesday.That deadline has been extendedone month to March 21.

"This is an enforcement issue thegovernor is not going to step into."Hull said.

Fraitc Fennessy. executive assis-tant to ihe DNR secretary, said nogovernor has ever intervened in anenforcement matter involving (heDNR.Fmfflt HEMTMTNNS KFIUKB

The 10-page audit reviews thesettlement and describes severalaspects that have met with harshcriticism from environmentalistsand ^ome legislators.

The .ludit points out how a U.S.Fish & Wildlife Service compensa-tion plan, released in October, asksfor SIT" 1 million to $333 million to

cover all the mills, and to the dis-agreements that led to two plans.The DNR began negotiationswith Fort James (now Georgia-Pacific Corp.) last summer whenthen-secretary George Mcyer feltdisagreements with the federalagency had grown too great to have *one joint plan.

The stale's settlement agreementwas signed on Nov. 17. Rep. JudyKrawczyk, R-Green Bay, who isstarting her first term, said theDNR's initiative on this is to make asettlement with one paper mill andthen go right down the line with theothers.

"I've heard criticism, but 1 ttilnk... it's good to sit down at the bar-gaining table,1' "KrJwczyk said."And I think itVgoOd to start the;compensation .worV right' away"rather than sitting in court."

Negotiations are underway will)the other six companies, held out ofthe public eye. George said "to holdthese negotiations in secret is an.insult to the public trust.'1

DNR spokesman Iknce Bakerdefended the private talks and saidthe entire process is guaranteed toprovide sufficient competition in aspeedy way.

"This is a mode) process that wemight be using on other great lakesand tributaries," Baker said. "Every-thing we did is founded in a processthat's been developed by the federalgovernment and used by the federalgovernment in other cases," he said.• The audit "didn't really identifyanything that was new to us," hesaid. "The letter that they puttogether is basically an historicaccounting."

It would be possible to halt theentire process, he added.

'If we don't file a consentdecree, ihen there's no agreement."he said. "But ihe idea thai the gover-nor should intervene is counter, Ifeel, to the idea of keeping politicsout of our decisions."eiuwB in THI WENSE « nis?

While die agreement must stilt beapproved by a federal judge, thesigned settlement shows how thework will get dune, rather than gel-ting locked in litigation. Baker said.

"Just because you take it to courtdoesn't mean that you'll win." hesaid

Rebecca Katers, executive direc-tor of Ihc Clean Water Action Coun-

cil, said the state's attempt to coop-erate with the mills has failed.

"It is unrealistic to expect cotporations to donate hundreds of mil-lions of dollars unless there is athreat of an enforcement actionbehind il," Katers said. "Thai's thegorilla in the closet.

"It's pretty sad that a legislatorfrom Milwaukee had to (ask far theaudit), that none of our own legisla-tors would approach it."

Rep. John Ryba, D-Grecn Ha\.said he isn't very familiar with theagreement but that he would snon hestudying it.

"I'm sure in the next couple otweeks ihere will be more oui ttvtv.and we'll be directed on what -ACshould be doing," he said.

Ryba considers himself an env i-ronmentalist. but said he must con-sider that one of Georgia-Put ilic'smills is in his district.

"They're our biggest employer. "Ryba said. "Do we want them !•>shut down and move. ;ind thenwhat? Are we going to have tleaneiwater with 2.500 people out ^1 .1

The Associated Press conttibulcrt lthis report.

PCB settlement draws fire from residents at public hearing'This wholedeal stinksto high heaven'

BY PETER REBHAHNPRESS-GAZETTE

Ines Kinchen posed a ques-tion for the 50 or so peoplewho attended a public hear-ing Thursday night in GreenBay.Green Bay is blessed withunique natural resources in

the bay and Fox River, thecity resident said. "So howcome nobody looks on themap and says, 'Let's go therefor the weekend?'" sheasked.Kinchen's answer — pollu-tion of the river and baywith polychlorinated

biphenyls, or PCB.s — wasalso the reason for the hear-ing.The hearing was spon-

sored by the Green Bay-based Clean Water ActionCouncil to allow commenton the state Department ofNatural Resources' settle-ment with Georgia-PacificCorp. for natural-resourcedamage related to its shareof PCB pollution of the FoxRiver.

No one from Georgia-Pa-cific attended Thursday'shearing.Some who attended

Thursday's hearing didn'tmince words in blasting thedeal and the DNR's methodsfor reaching it."Where is the public inter-est served by private meet-ings?" asked White Lake res-

ident George Rock. "Whereis the public interest servedby sweetheart deals for pri-vate industries? This wholedeal stinks to high heavenfolks."Bob Howe, a University ofWisconsin-Green Bay biolo-gy professor, called the deal"an insult."

"The settlement itself failsto address the issues that arerelevant here," Howe said.He said the settlement does-n't address the real problem,which he said is a "sickecosystem."A De Pere High School stu-dent, Curt Hendricks, calledthe PCB-laced river bottom atoxic dump whose danger isunderestimated by residentsbecause it's under water."If we had a toxic dump inour back yard, it would have

been cleaned up a long timeago," Hendricks said.Green Bay residentCharles Frisk slammed theDNR's deal for not account-ing for the losses of commer-cial fishermen. "These peo-

ple have lost millions andmillions of dollars," he said.State Sen. Dave Hansen, D-Green Bay, called for moreopenness and public involve-ment in any future DNRdeals with the six otherpaper companies responsi-ble for the pollution.Kinchen said the scope ofthe PCB damage isn't prop-erly understood.

"We need to realize thegreatness of our loss here,"she said."If people don't knowabout the loss, we'll neverget a fair settlement."

File/Press-Gazntl'Workers began PCB removal in 1999 from the Fox RiverAbout 50 people attended Thursday's public hearing t<criticize the Department of Natural Resources' deal wit)Georgia-Pacific Corp. to pay for the PCB damage.

Report questions PCB dealMcCallum HBurged toblock Foxsettlement

BY SCOTT HIIJ>EBRANT>PKESS-GA.ZKTTK MADISON BUHEAU

MADISON — State Sen.Gary George is calling onGov. Scott McCallum to halta deal between the state andGeorgia-Pacific Corp. relatedto PCB pollution of the FoxRiver.The Milwaukee Democratasked McCallum to Inter-vene Thursday after the Leg-islative Audit Bureau raisedwhat George •citizensdescribed as sound off at

hearing, B-1" s e r i o u squest ionsabout thestate's agree-ment withGeorgia-Pa-cific."The num-ber of ques-tions that

have beenraised aboutthis settle-ment are soserious thatthe public trust we demandis in severe jeopardy," saidGeorge, who is running forgovernor in 2002.But a spokeswoman forMcCallum said it's unlikelythe governor would respond

Please see PCB, A-2

^ File/Pioss-GazetteDredging of PCB sediments in the Fox River began in 1999. Some lawmakers are criticizing the Department of Natu-ral Resources' $7 million deal with Fort James to compensate the public for environmental damage caused by PCBs.Key findings of the audit bureau's report

McCallumNot likely tohalt settlementThe Legislative Audit Bureau onThursday released a review of thestate's $7 million deal with Georgia-Pacific Corp. on damage claims relat-ed to PCB contamination of the FoxRiver.Auditors noted that:• Critics have questioned the use ofenvironmental consultants hired bypaper companies to prepare damageassessments.These critics believe that the papercompanies have a bias to minimize

their liability and that a process theycontrol ultimately benefits them and notthe public," the audit said.The Department of Natural Re-sources countered that the processwas not biased because the DNR di-rected the consultants' activities.• Even though the DNR is takingpublic comments on the settlement, theagreement says nothing about chang-ing it on the basis of those comments.A federal court has the final say onthe settlement.

"The number ofquestions thathave been raisedabout the settle-ment are soserious that thepublic trust wedemand is insevere jeopardy."

— Sen. Gary George,D-Milwaukee

'.i'lit-i:--!--IT.**," '

PCB/DNR extends commentary periodI From A-1

favorably to George's request foran executive order to stop Imple-mentation of the settlement."I don't ex-pect the gover-nor to issue an

e x e c u t i v eorder," said Mc-C a 1 1 u mspokeswomanLisa Hull. "In ageneral sense,he has a lot ofconfidence inthe work theDNR has done BazrtlIs taking publiccomment on dealon this issue."The audit bu-reau on Thursday released a 10-page review of the state's settle-ment with Fort James Corp. fornatural-resource damage to thePox River. Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacific recently completed a buy-'out of Fort James.The Department of Natural Re-sources negotiated a $7 milliondeal with Fort James to compen-sate the public for damage to theenvironment caused by PCBs, orpolychlorinated biphenyls. PCBswere released into the river byseven area paper mills during the

1950s,'60s and'70s.The chemicals have been linkedto reproductive problems and de-formities in wildlife, and to devel-opmental problems in children.The agreement with the staterequires Georgia-Pacific to spend

about $7 million on recreational,fish and wildlife habitat and otherenvironmental benefits. The dealwill provide a $55 million econom-ic benefit to the area, according toDNR estimates.Hearings wantedGeorge asked McCallum to di-rect the DNR to hold public hear-ings on the settlement and todelay its implementation until themany questions raised have beenanswered."Environmental groupsthroughout the state are upsetover what .they characterize as a'secret pact' between, ,the DNR andFt. JaraesXGeorge wrote in a let-ter to McCallum and DNR Secre-taryDarrell Bazzell. "There wereno public hearings held on thisproposed settlement,and theagreement is being characterizedas a slap on the wrist for thepaper companies," ;Rebecca Katers, executive direc-tor of the Green Bay-based CleanWater Action Council, expressedsupport for George's request."We're very anxious to see thatthe process is followed throughcorrectly," said Katers, whosegroup held its own hearing on theagreement Thursday night.Deadline extendedThe DNR is considering publiccomments on the settlement andhas extended the comment periodby one month to March 21. How-ever, auditors said the agreement

View the settlementCopies of the settlement be-tween the state Department ofNatural Resources and Georgia-Pacific Corp. can be seen at:• Brown County Central Li-brary, 515 Pine St., Green Bay• Door County Library, 104 S.Fourth Ave., Sturgeon Bay• Oneida Library, 201 Elm St.,Oneida• Downtown libraries in Apple-ton and Oshkosh.The settlement is also online atwww.dnr.state.w1.us/org/water/wm/towerfox/Sediment/fJnrdacp.html.

To comment; Written comments on the settle-'ment must be postmarked by; March 21. Mail to Greg Hill,,'NRDA coordinator, Wisconsin De-i partment of Natural Resources,j P.O. Box 7921, Madison, Wl'53707-7921. ;

does not mention that it is subjectto change."This is something we felt weneeded to bring to the public's at-tention," State Auditor JaniceMueller said.But Franc Fennessy, executiveassistant to Bazzell, said the de-partment will consider all publiccomments on the agreement. Hesaid the DNR already has received600 comments."We intend to evaluate and re-view them with an eye to improv-

ing the agreement where it needsto be improved," Fennessy said.A federal court must approvethe settlement.The audit raises numerous ques-tions about the use of environ-mental consultants hired by thepaper companies to prepare natu-ral-resources damage assess-ments. The consultants' work hasbeen controversial because criticsquestion why the paper companieseffectively were allowed to conducttheir own damage assessment.Through Jan. 5, the DNR con-sultants have been paid $773,703by the Fox River Group of papercompanies to evaluate studies pre-pared for the companies, the auditsaid. It also said DNR consultantshave been paid $138,442 by FortJames for work directly related toits settlement with the state.

DNR officials said it was neces-sary for the consultants to be paidby the paper companies becausethe state could not afford such ex-perts. The audit also noted thatthe consultants signed agree-ments that require their workingpapers to be maintained as confi-dential and forbid the consultantsfrom contact with paper companyrepresentatives."DNR and the Department ofJustice believe the confidentialityagreements helped to ensure thatthe consultants worked in the bestinterest of the state," auditorssaid.Reporter John Dipko contributedto this report.

THE POST-CRESCENTYOJiR CONTACT

Amy Pelishek, news editor920-993-1000, ext 286e-mail: pcnews@smgpo.gannett.comWEDNESDAY, FEB. 14, 2001 N C-2

Wisconsin's Best Newspaper

New i)NK boss defends PCB settlementBazzell agrees withMeyer's approachto Fort James claimsBy Scott HlldebrandFor The Post-Crescent

MADISON - State Depart-ment of Natural Resources Sec-retary Darrell Bazzell says hispredecessor took the rightapproach in settling naturalresource damage claims againstGeorgia-Pacific" Corp.However, Bazzell said he stillis reviewing the specifics of thestate's deal with Georgia-Pacificand is not prepared to seek sim-ilar negotiations with other

paper companies responsible forthe damage.In an interview Tuesday,Bazzell said he agrees with theway former DNR SecretaryGeorge Meyer handled negotia-tions with Fort James Corp. tosettle damage claims related toPCB pollution of the Fox River.Atlanta-based Georgia-Pacificsince has completed a buyout of •Fort James."The idea was to negotiate asettlement based on recoveringthe damages, but in a way thatgot us to the bottom line andavoided, costly and timely litiga-tion," Bazzell said. "It's certainlya preferred approach to artifi-cially inflating a number,t(and

Bazzell

going througha lengthy, liti-gious battlewith the papercompanies. Idon't think thatserves anyonewell."Meyer nego-_______ tiated a $7 mil-lion deal withFort James to compensate thepublic for damage to the envi-ronment caused by PCBs, orpolychlorinated biphenyls. Thepotentially cancerous chemicals,used by paper companies in a'de-inking process, were releasedinto the river from 1957 to 1971.

PGBs have been Jinked to

reproductive . problems anddeformities in wildlife, and todevelopmental problems in chil-dren.Rebecca Katers, executivedirector of the Clean WaterAction Council in Green Bay,was quick to criticize Bazzell'scomments on the Georgia-Pacif-ic settlement.Katers said even a U.S. Fishand Wildlife Service estimate ofcompensation costs is too low.The service last year estimatedcompensation costs due fromseyen paper companies, includ-ing Georgia-Pacific, at between$176 million and $333 million."I take strong exception to thestatement that Fish and Wildlife

has artificially inflated those val-ues," Katers said. "If anything,they underestimated the costs."The DNR is accepting publiccomment on the Georgia-Pacificsettlement until Feb. 21. A feder-al court will make the final deci-sion on the plan.Bazzell said he wants toreview the public response tothe settlement and the method-ology that led to the deal.Tim Dantoin, public outreachdirector for the Fox River Groupof paper companies, said Bazzelldeserves time to become morefamiliar with the details of thesettlemejitjmd the_Fox cleanup.• Scott Hildebrand writes for theGreen Bay Press-Gazette.

PCB/Georgia-Pacific committed to plan• From A-1___________AH politicsRebecca Raters, executive direc-

tor of the Green Bay-based CleanWater Action Council, said Mc-Callum's involvement would notmake the settlement any more po-litical than it already is."It is a Cabinet form of govern-ment so he is accountable for this

decision," Katers said. "The gov-ernor is responsible."George could not be reached for

comment Friday. But Dave Begel,a spokesman for George, said Mc-Callum should look for answers toserious questions the audit bu-reau raised."It's unfortunate that GovernorMcCallum puts this in politicalterms," Begel said. "There are nopolitics about the purity of Wis-consin's natural resources."The agreement between the

About the pactThe state Department of Natu-ral Resources negotiated a $7million deal with Fort JamesCorp. — now Georgia-PacificCorp. — to compensate the pub-lic for damage to the environ-ment caused by PCBs, or poly-chlorinated biphenyls. The

chemicals, formerly used in car-bonless copy paper, were re-leased into the river from 1957to 1971.PCBs have been linked to re-productive problems and defor-mities in wildlife, and to develop-mental problems in children.

state and Georgia-Pacific requiresthe company to spend about $7million on recreational, fish andwildlife habitat and other envi-ronmental benefits.Georgia-Pacific respondsGeorgia-Pacific is committed toworking with the state and the U.S.Environmental Protection Agencyon the Issue, Lee Thomas, presi-dent of the company's ConsumerProducts division, said Friday

"As the overall plan is devel-oped, we are fully prepared andfully committed to participate inthat," said Thomas, a former ad-ministrator with the EPA."The assessment of those dam:ages is a "very subjective process,'It's not unusual you wilLhave dif-fering opinions." i vHe said the damage assessmentis a different issue than cleanupcosts, which have yet to be deter-mined

Georgia-Pacific, which has op-erations throughout the UnitedStates, has participated in otherlarge cleanups."Sites like this are complex. It isdifficult to assess hi determininglong-term risk. It is difficult to de-termine a remedy," he said.Bruce' Baker, manager of theFox River case for the DNR, saidthe deal would be the largest envi-ronmental enforcement settle-ment in state history. He said Mc-Callum would set an "amazingprecedent" if he got involved.McCallum said he prefers a ne-gotiated approach over a lengthycourt battle with paper compa-nies over damages. ..' v" We ••want a clean river, but wealso want to maintain economicViability" in the Fox River valley,•* Jicpdrfer Richard Ryman con-tributed to this nporL

View the settlementCopies of the settlement be-tween the state Department ofNatural Resources and Georgia-Pacific Corp. can be seen at:• Brown County Central Li-brary, 515 Pine St., Green Bay• Door County Library, 104 S.Fourth Ave., Sturgeon Bay• Oneida Library, 201 Elm St.,Oneida• Downtown libraries in Apple-ton and Oshkosh.The settlement is also onlineat www.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/lowerfox/Sediment/fjnrdacp.html.

To commentWritten comments on the settle-ment must be postmarked byMarch 21. Mail to Greg Hill.NRDA coordinator, Wisconsin De-partment of Natural Resources,P.O. Box 7921, Madison, Wl

53707-7921.

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fflf;: jli'S •-' -.«;•.' ;.'iii! :

McCaIlum won't stop PCB dealGovernor sayspolitics shouldn'tbe involved "•/

BY SCOTT HILDEBRANDPRESS-GAZETTE MADISON BUREAU.MADISON — Gov. ScottMcCallum will not halt adeal between the state and.Georgia-Pacific Corp. ondamage claims related toPCB pollution of the FoxRiver'-- '-*.". •v;v-lik;-/f*->TThe Republican governor,said Friday that he will notintervene in the case as re-quested Thursday by .stateSen. Gary George, D*-MQ-waukee.

The DNRdid the nego-tiations," Mc-.. Callum said."I don't thinkthere oughtto be heavy, political in-fluence intheir deci-sion. ,G e o r g easked McCal-lum to issue an executive.: order to stop implementa-tion of the agreement until: public hearings are held so• questions about the deal areanswered.JSeorge_requested the goy-ernor;s intervention afterJthe_Legislative Audit Bureau

McCallumLetting DNRhandle issue

released a review Thursdayof the settlement, whichcalled for Georgia-Pacific topay $7 million for natural re- "source damages to the FoxRiver. 3That review raised ques-tions about the use of envi-ronmental consultants hiredby paper companies and lim-its on public involvement. .>-"I find it interesting thatthe same Democrats that aresaying I shouldn't have ap-pointed a Cabinet member atDNR are now calling for me ,to intervene with the DNRand become politically in-volved," McCallum said. "Youcan't have it both ways."

Please see PCB, A-2

Concernrises overPCB dealBay water losscould be partof settlement

BY PETER REBHAHNPRESS-GAZETTE

, A settlement between the. state Department of NaturalResources and Georgia-Pacif-''-ic Corp. for natural resource

; damages could be changed to^reflect loss of the bay ofijGfreen Bay as a potentialvorinkhig-water source, a•DNR official said.JS could be," said Greg, the DNR's damage as--,^ment coordinator. "Theregulations provide for it."{IS. Department of Interiorregulations guide natural re-source damage settlements.rthe DNR signed a $7-mil-Hon deal in November to set-tle resource-damage claimsagainst the former FortJames Corp. stemming frompollution of the Fox Riverwith polychlorinated, biphenyls, or PCBs, by sevenpaper companies,-r Atlanta-based Georgia-Pa-cific purchased Fort James

Fox River damage,The federal government has ;named these seven paper ,companies as potentially ' .1..,,"responsible parties for PCBdamage to the lower Fox River:if (fcxmerfy Fort James)'

WisconsinTissue Mills

Nov. 27.Settlement terms call forGeorgia-Pacific to turn overenvironmentally sensitive

land to the state, and to fundPlease see Deal, A-2

•'••p&i-jfefe.;;•,'»•••>

BSi-J:

Deal/PCBs ha^e haraaed ability to get water from bayView the settlement• FromA-1 • ..

———————————————————•—————— ' • • ; • , ' . „ .

habitat restoration and recreation^al projects. • "•'•The village of Howard told theDNR last week that the deal fallsshort because it doesn't addressnonrecreational uses of the bay"Recreation was only one aspectof the damages for the village ofHoward," said Bob Strazishar,Howard's president "The ability tocost-effectively harvest water outof the bay for drinking purposeshas been harmed."Howard is one of nine Green Baysuburbs planning to build a (ISO-million drinking-water pipeline toLake Michigan to replace a shrink-ing supply of groundwater. Theothers are Allouez, Ashwaubenon,Bellevue, De Pere, Hobart,Lawrence, Ledgeview and Scott.A consultant to the suburbs esti-mated last year that a pipeline tothe bay would cost an estimated$15 million more to build, arid 30

to 40 percent more yearly to bper-ate'and fralntain; than a longerpipeline to Lake Michigan, thanksto extra costs related to removingPCBs."Without the PCBs, it would becheaper to go to (the bay of) GreenBay," said Mike Winegard,'theChicago-based engineer who per-formed the estimates. He said' pub-lic perception also had a hand inhis recommendation to go to thelake instead of the bay."It's hard to get people to want todrink water from a place where thefish are poisoned," Winegard said.Trying to-convince residents that"you can't eat the fish, but you candrink the water" would be an up-hill climb, he said.Other engineering problems re-lated to a pipeline to the bay, suchas ice and algae, could be over-come, Winegard said. A baypipeline would have entered the.bay in Door County near the com-nlunity of Shoemaker Point; :.;•• ..' ' ' ;F4fr-)- ' i - ^ - ' r

David Alien, al Green Bay-basedU.S. Fish and Wildlife officialwho's overseeing the federal agen-cy's damage assessment, called thedrinking-water issue "interesting."The Fish and < Wildlife damage as-sessment, like the DNR's, ignoredthe issue."If it's true drinking water fromthe bay is limited by PCBs that aretraceable to the responsible parties... then trying to do some sort ofrestoration project for that couldmake a certain amount of sense,"Alien said.Georgia-Pacific spokesman MarkLindley said Howard's claim cameas a surprise. "We're trying to fig-ure out how that relates to naturalresource damages," he said. ButLindley acknowledged Howard'sright to make the complaint."That's what the public commentperiod is all about."Hill said Howard's criticism[.become part of the officialraiment, which will be

viewed by the federal judge whowill render a final ruling on thedealThe DNR last week extended thecomment period to March 21.Hill said he is concerned aboutstatements from foes of the pro-posed settlement who say the pub-lic comment won't make any dif-ference because the settlement is adone deal."That's a real disservice, Ithink," he said. "It's a disservicebecause, if people believe that,they will not provide comments."Hill said he's worried that pro-tracted wrangling over the Geor-gia-Pacific deal and others yet tocome with the six other companiescould, in effect, disenfranchise res-idents by landing the matter incourt. There, he said, past Fish andWildlife claims have been settledfor an average of just 10 cents on adollar."The public expectation is veryhigh," Hill said.

Copies of the settlement be-tween the state Department ofNatural Resources and Georgia-Pacific Corp. can be seen at:• Brown County Central Li-brary, 515 Pine St., Green Bay.• Door County Library, 104 S.Fourth Ave., Sturgeon Bay.• Oneida Library, 201 Elm St.,Oneida.• Downtown libraries in Apple-ton and Oshkosh.The settlement also is online atwww.dnr.state.wi.us/org/water/wm/lowerfox/Sediment/fjnrdacp.html.To commentWritten comments on the settle-ment must be postmarked byMarch 21. Mail to Greg Hill,NRDA coordinator, Wisconsin De-partment of Natural Resources,P.O. Box 7921, Madison, Wl53707-7921.

March release of PCB-cleanup plan unlikely"Z. ~ ^LO '— ® I •

BY PETER REBHAHNPRESS-GAZETTE

Administrative changesit the state and federal lev•Is could slow the long-iwaited release of aileanup plan for the Foxliver • , ' • ." ' •- . ' ' • • • • • ' ' • • - • • ' • . • . •George Meyer, former sec-

retary of the state Depart-ment of Natural Resources,said last month he expectedto release the plan inMarch. But Ed Lynch, DNRcleanup project manager,said Monday that changesat the helm within DNR andthe federal EnvironmentalProtection Agency make a

March release iffy."Our objective has alwaysbeen to get it out as soon aspossible, with the adminis-trations understandingwhat we're sending out,"Lynch said. "But it maytake some time to educateboth the state administra-tion and the federal admin-

istration."At issue is a comprehen-sive plan for dealing withpolychlorinated biphenyls,or PCBs, released to theriver by seven area papermills in the 1950s, '60s and'70s. The chemicals causehealth problems in peopleand wildlife.

Gov. Scott McCallum tookthe oath of office Feb. 1 andreplaced Meyer withDeputy Secretary DarrellBazzell Feb. 6. Frank Lyons,the EPA's Chicago-based Re-gion 5 administrator, re-signed with the change ofadministrations in Wash-ington. Lyons' successor

PCB/Document being prepared is 'huge'I From A-1____________ased Clean Water Action Coun-il. expressed concern thehanges could slow work on thelan. But Lynch said the admin-itrative switches will have no ef->ct on the ongoing work.Katers said the federal changesre especially troublesome."Because, under the Reagannd Bush administrations, bothie Super-fund and (damage as-Jssment) efforts were quite

slow," she said.The U.S. Congress establishedthe Superfund Program in 1980to target the nation's worst-pol-luted sites. The ERA administers

the program in cooperation withindividual states and tribal gov-ernments.The EPA has had the Fox Riveron its short list of candidates for

Superfund cleanup for years. Butthe feds have said they won't im-pose a Superfund-led cleanup ifthe paper mills and state negoti-

ate an acceptable plan.Lynch said his agency hadworked closely with EPA on thenearly complete plan. "Our in-tent is, we want to bring this out

with EPA," he said. "We want tohave joint ownership."The document under prepara-tion is "huge," Lynch said. "Weneed to inform and bring peopleup to speed so they don't sign offon something they aren't famil-iar with," he said.Katers said hopes for begin-

ning dredging this year, if theplan mandates it, are dimming."So, at this point, a month or twowon't make that much differ-ence," she said.But she said studies whichshow that PCBs continue tomove from riverbed sediments topollute the bay of Green Baymake it imperative that cleanupbegin in 2002. "Every year thatwe delay, another 600 pounds (ofPCBs) goes down the river," shesaid.

hasn't been named.Lynch declined to specif}a date for release of thtcleanup plan, but said ilwould happen "in a couplemonths."Rebecca Katers, executivedirector of the Green Bay-

•- <-. • Please see PCB, A-23:J > : ' / , _ , . . ! • • - . - . : . V : : f

10 Tuesday, February 20, 2001

UHEY'S VIEWPOINT

U&T AAE OFF-IREFOR AW FltfUFE.

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•••

THE POST-CRESCENTYOUR CONTACT

Amy Pelishek, news editor920-993-1000, ext 286e-mail: pcnews@smgpo.gannett.com

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17, 2001 • B-2

Wisconsin's Newspaper

McCalluin says state will honor PCB dealBy Scott HildebrandFor The Post-Crescent

MADISON - Gov. ScottMcCallum said Friday he willnot halt a deal between the stateand Georgia-Pacific Corp. ondamage claims related to PCBpollution of the Fox River.

The Republican governor saidhe will not'intervene, in the caseas requested Thursday by stateSen. Gary George, D-Milwau-kee.

"The DNR did the negotia-tions," McCallum said. "I don'tthink there ought to be heavypolitical influence in their deci-

sion.George asked McCallum toissue an executive order to stopimplementation of the agree-ment until there have been pub-lic hearings so questions aboutthe deal are answered.

George requested the gover-nor's intervention after the Leg-islative Audit Bureau released areview Thursday of the settle-ment for natural resource dam-ages to the Fox River.That review raised questionsabout the use* of environmentalconsultants hired by paper com-panies and limits on publicinvolvement.

"I find it interesting that thesame Democrats that are saying1 shouldn't have appointed aCabinet member at DNR arenow calling for me to intervenewith the DNR and become polit-ically involved," McCallum said."You can't have it both ways,"Rebecca Katers, executivedirector of the Green Bay-basedClean Water Action Council,said McCallum's involvementwould not make the settlementany more political than italready is. She said the Cabinetis appointed by the governor.• Scott Hildebrand writes for TheGreen Bay Press-Gazette.

Governor completes his CabinetMADISON (AP) - Gov.

Scott McCallum rounded outhis cabinet Friday, appointinga utility lobbyist, PhyllisDube, to head the Depart-ment of Health and FamilyServices.McCallum also appointedstate budget director RickChandler as secretary of theDepartment of Revenue."Neither of these two agen-cies are very easy to manage,that's why I wanted adminis-

trators, solid managers foreach of these departments,"McCallum said.Dube, who turns 52 today,is director of regulatory advo-cacy for Wisconsin ElectricPower Co., representing theutility's interests before thestate Public Service Commis-sion.

At the Department of Rev-enue, Chandler will succeedCate Zeuske. a former staterepresentative.

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GETTING DOWN TO WORKThe DNR's newchief is ready tomake his markBy Cliff MillerPost-Crescent Madison bureau

MADISON - As the new headcustodian of Wisconsin's naturalresources and environment, DarrellBazzell promises to be open, visibleand professional - and to get out ofthe office more to ern'oy the resourceshe protects.Gov. Scott McCallum appointedBazzell as Department of NaturalResources secretary on Feb. 6, pro-moting him from deputy secretary.Neither McCallum nor Bazzell hasshed much light on the reason forMcCallum's decision to 'replaceGeorge Meyer, the DNR chief underformer Gov. Tommy Thompson since1993. '••••• ' ' ••'•;. '• •:-•;[• Meyer suggested one motivation• may have been his outspoken beliefthe secretary should be removed fromthe Cabinet as an appointee of the gov-ernor and returned to being appointed 'by the Natural Resources Bamt.-' *•AfaHke Meyer. Bazzefl ncidj theissue, nying it is up ttrthe gwernorand Legislature to decide. He'aid inhis case it doesn't matter wM appoints 'the secretary.___ ':''•" ' ", ~ DARRELL BAZZELL, the new secretary of the state Department of Natural Resources, says his top prioritiesPlease see BAZZELL, A-8 are .writing a law to protect the state's wetlands and the cleanup of the Fox River.

GEORGEMEYER sayshe was sur-prised Gov.

Scott McCal-lum replacedhim as DNR

secretary.Please see

rtory on A-7.

Handling plane crash was Meyer's toughest jobBy Ed CuthanePost-Crescent staff writer

George Meyer's worst day assecretary of the WisconsinDepartment of NaturalResources began with a ringingphone. It was 8 : 15 a.m. on Sept.18, 1998.

"They notified me of a plane. crash," Meyer said. "Two of mycolleagues and a pilot I knewwell were dead. I had to find out

where their spouses were."It was a DNR plane, flown

by agency pilot Jon Sherman.52. who had survived duty as ahelicopter pilot during the Viet-nam War.

A hundred miles north ofMadison, Sherman reportedsmoke in the cabin. Fifteen min-utes later, the burning planecrashed into a cranberry bog.

The passengers were MichaelWin, a watershed section chief,

and DNR scientist Dale Patter-son, a mathematician whodeveloped the computer modelsused to predict the movementof chemicals in water bodies.

"He was one of the top sci-entists in the country," Meyerwould tell a reporter the nextday. "He took the textbooks andmade them work when no oneelse could."Meyer drove to the Patterson

Please see MEYER, A-7

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17,2001 I THE POST-CRESCENT, APPLETON-NEENAH-MENASHA, WIS. A-7

Meyer was shocked when asked to leave DNR postBy Ed CulhanePost-Crescent staff witter

George Meyer had been sec-retary of the state Departmentof Natural Resources for eightyears when he walked into ameeting with Gov. Scott McCal-lum.He had a list of issues withhim to discuss with the new gov-ernor. It never came out of hispocket"He said sit down, George, 1have bad news for you," Meyerrecalled.And so it came to an abruptend, this dream job he hadworked toward his entire profes-sional career.It was a new governor picking

Former secretary says Thompson 'didn't understand' why McCallum asked him to leavehis own Cabinet, and Meyer wasout. McCallum issued his pressrelease within hours.Meyer had only enough timeto call his wife, Jayne, and tospeak with his deputy, DarrellBazzell, who had just beenoffered his job."1 leaned on him that heneeded to accept the positionfor the good of the agency,"Meyer said. "I wasn't able to getto the employees. Many of themheard about it on the radio ontheir way in to work the nextmorning."Five days later, former Gov.Tommy Thompson came home

for the weekend from his newCabinet post in Washington,D.C. He called Meyer at 10p.m., just off the plane."He said he didn't understandwhat happened or why," Meyersaid. "He just said you and yourfamily are strong, and you willget through this well."It was Thompson who set thestage for this sudden transitionat the helm of the 5,000-memberagency.It was Thompson who endedWisconsin's six decade traditionof insulating environmental deci-sions from politics, a traditionthat dates back to the creation of

the former Department of Con-servation in 1928.For all of those years, a citi-zens board with membersappointed in staggered terms bythe governor and approved, bythe Legislature, held trie power toappoint the DNR secretary."One of the benefits of theboard system is you tend to havea longer tenure of secretaries,"Meyer said. "I am only the fourthsecretary in 48 years. You don'tget that kind of situation in Cabi-net government"But in 1995, with Republicansin control of the state Assemblyand Senate, Thompson submit-

ted a budget bill that made theDNR secretary a member of hisCabinet to serve at his pleasure.Thompson said it would makethe agency more responsive.Meyer, appointed secretary bythe Natural Resources Board,strongly opposed the change.So did every environmentalorganization in the state. Law-makers reported being floodedwith calls and letters opposingthe change.It came down to one vote inthe Assembly and one in the Sen-ate.On Tuesday, the state Senatevoted 20-13 to put things back

the way they were, but it won'thappen this year.McCallum has said he willveto the bill if it gets to his desk.The Assembly might not eventake it up.As for Meyer, he is currentlyserving as Bazzell's assistant Hishighest responsibility, he said, isto help Bazzell get off to a goodstart.He has other duties. He is cur-rently president of the Environ-mental Council of States, madeup of the nation's state adminis-trators of environmental protec-tion.Meyer is also vice presidentand possibly the next presidentof the International Associationof Fish and Wildlife Agencies.

MEYER: Dealing with spearfishing was huge challengeFrom A-1home that day and broke LindePatterson's heart.Succumbing to her grief, sheasked Meyer to accompany aneighbor to the schools whereher two children could be found.It fell to Meyer to tell a 12-year-old girl and a 10-year-oldboy that their father, his friend,had been killed.By then, Meyer had been withthe DNR for more than 25years, his entire professional We.He was raised on a dairy farmat New Holstein, on land stillowned by his family. He gradu-ated from St. Norbert College inDe Pere in 1969 and went on toearn a law degree from the Uni-versity of Wisconsin.In April 1970, he took part-time work as a DNR law clerk.In 1972, a month after earninghis law degree, Meyer joined theagency, working on clean waterregulations. In 1980, he becamethe administrator of the DNR'senforcement division.Three years later, a federaljudge granted off-reservationtreaty rights to the ChippewaIndian tribes, allowing them tospear walleye on hundreds ofpopular fishing lakes acrossnorthern Wisconsin.The state had to negotiateharvest limits with the tribes,and Meyer was appointed bythen-DNR Secretary BuzzBesadny to lead that "effort, Violent and sometimes racistprotests became common atboat landings where Chippewaspearfishers would launch theirboats at night. JMeyer became the chief nego-tiator and supervised wardenswho were backed up by hun-dreds of law officers from acrossthe state.From 1983 to 1991, negotia-tions and b'tigation proceeded,

and so did the spearing. Theimage of angry white fishermenhurling racial slurs at Chippewaspearers became common onstate and national television.It was Meyer's greatest chal-lenge."There were days when I won-dered whether it (an agreement)was possible," he said.Meyer and tribal lead-ers signed more than 100interim agreements, sea-son by season, lake bylake, as the state soughtto limit harvests, protectfish stocks and preservethe rights of recreationalanglers. Eventually, theappeals ended, voluntari-ly, and negotiations suc-ceeded.Today, fish stocks are healthy,spear harvests have declinedand bag limits are growing.While not popular with someWisconsin residents, spearfish-ing now draws little attention."People have asked if the jobof DNR secretary is stressful,''Meyer said.-"I tell them, 'No,not in comparison to negotiat-ing treaty rights.' It was a greatcrucible for this job."In February 1993, he wasappointed DNR secretary by theNatural Resources Board."He was a communicator andan ambassador for the state,"said DNR official Greg Hill."He made between 200 and 300appearances a year before localgroups. Anyone who wanted tosee George Meyer could .pave"George come and talk to them."Meyer .oversaw .a majorrestructuring of the agency,based on a holistic approach tonature and designed to Integratesuch diverse programs as airquality and fisheries science. Hesought to make a place at thetable for interest groups, seekingconsensus wherever possible.

"Resource management isvery personal and local to peo-ple," Meyer said. "We need tobuild on that."His was among the first instate government to identifyurban sprawl as a threat to theenvironment.Under his leadership, Wis-consin became thefirst state in the nationto adopt mercuryemission standards.The DNR perma-nently protected142,000 acres underMeyer, restored206,000 acres of wet-lands and cleaned up12,000 contaminatedsites.During his administration,toxic air and water emissionsdeclined by 50 percent. Talksbegan on the Fox River thatcould eventually lead to one ofthe largest environmentalcleanups ever attempted.Meyer continually foughtefforts to split the DNR into twosmaller agencies, one to managethe environment, the other tomanage fish and wildlife. Such aplan is emerging again this year."Clean water, clean air,forests, good land and wildlifehabitat are all integral," Meyersaid."You need to be making thosedecisions in one agency."He can remember too thebest day he ever had on the job.Wisconsin's Stewardship

Fund, which for a decade hadprovided $20 million a year forthe acquisition of ecologicallyimportant lands, was about toexpire.Gov. Tommy Thompson, as alegislator, had opposed the fund.Now he was thinking that agroup should be appointed tostudy it."In the best five minutes ofmy career, sitting on a planewith Thompson, I convincedhim to appoint a blue ribboncommission, not to study thereauthorization, but to develop areauthorization of the Steward-ship Fund," Meyer said. "To hiscredit, he did it quickly."The fund now produces $46million a year to preserve wildlands, forests and marshes.Meyer said he was taken bysurprise two weeks ago whennewly installed Gov. ScottMcCallum removed him.He is now helping his formerdeputy, Darrell Bazzell, takeover the agency.Meyer was offered a job inWashington with the U.S. Envi-ronmental Protection Agency.He turned it down.He is a native of Wisconsin,53 years old, with 30 years ofservice to the DNR.He said he isn't going any-where."My love is Wisconsin andthe Wisconsin DNR," Meyersaid, "and that's where I intendto retire to and from, respective-ly."

SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 17,2OO1 I THE POST-CRESCENT. APPLETON-NEENAH-MENASHA. WIS. A-9

-•:•-* !.; '• .-: ' , .

Fox River cleanup, Crandon mine top issues for new DNR chiefBy Cliff MillerPost-Creecent Madison bureau

MADISON - Darrell Bazzell. thenew Department of Natural Resourcessecretary, says he knows his agency hasa full plate of issues it must deal with inthe coining year.Here are his thoughts onsomeofthemajor issues facing Wisconsin:• Top environmental threats: Writ-ing a new law to Till the vacuum in stateauthority to protect wetlands in theaftermath of a recent U.S. SupremeCourt ruling is his and McCallmn'smost pressing priority.Longer-term, Bazzell listed reducingmercury pollution of water bodies andfish, reducing pollution of waters bycontaminated "non-point" runoff from

the land and maintaining and expand-ing outdoor recreation opportunities astop goals.Cleanup of the Fox River's depositsof toxic polychlorinated biphenyls(PCBs) is a major environmental pro-ject that he vowed to continue, workingwith state congressional representativesand federal environmental officials tofight possible congressional moves tocurtail cleanup funds."We can't slow down now," he said• Spearfishing: Bazzell said he is.hopeful Native American tribes thathave spear-fishing treaty rights will con-tinue their recent practice of limitingcatches so non-Indian anglers may beallowed bag-limits of three fish per dayon lakes covered by treaty rules.He declined to predict whether some

tribes might answer Gov. McCallum'shard line against the opening of newgambling casinos by increasing spear-ing activity."Our goal remains to have a mini-mum of three (walleyes) bag-limit foranglers," Bazzell said. "So I'm hopefulthat they (the tribes) will continue tohonor that standard. But we'll have towait and see."The spearing rituals begin as the icemelts on northern lakes, in roughly sixto eight weeks.• Crandon mine: He vowed deci-sions whether to license the proposedzinc and copper mine will be madestrictly by the law and scientific judg-ments and with fullest public participa-tion. "I can't imagine a more openprocess," Bazzell said.

BAZZELL DNR chief planning state tripsFrom A-1 ,

"From my perspective, beinga career civil servant, it doesn'tmake a difference to me in termsof how I go forward and run theagency,' he said. "It coma outthe same way whether the govefnor appoints me or whether a cit. izen board appoinume-I've got' to work with both.* • .- , •Critic* of the law giving the•uwuuuf the' powet to appoint.' the tecntary argue It aO but pur;anteet thtt poi£c» wlD Interfere[with deciaom thrt oi«ht to be'made tokty acaxdmg to scien-tific jwtacoo and the tow. Mey-1 er denied that happened duringhis term, but said tt is impossible• to escape the taint of suspicionas a political appointee.In a memo to DNR employ-ees during his first week incharge, Bazzell displayed a sensi-tivity to the question"Many people have asked mewhat 'marching orders' Ireceived from Gov. MaCallum. Ican tell you that he told me tomanage the agency based onstatute and science," he told thestaff.Bazzell said he intends toreassure the public of that policyby making major decisions "in avery open, very collaborativemanner" with citizens and thoseaffected by the decisions."I'm hopeful that will go a

long way towards relieving anyconcerns that the public mighthave," he said• White receiving high marksfrom:insiders as a manager,BazzeU recognizes many outsidethe agency know little, it any-thing, about him and intends tocorrect that. ' " •. He:pbms or lafmded. travelschedule across the Hate tomeetDNR staff m regional and localoffkea, and following Meyertennyfc. to appear alto pubnctywtavwbT he doioa, ••BaH 42.il the fir* blackto hod the agency and to joinMcCdtm-i Cabinet. He fc nonovice in"DNR management,having been Meyer's deputysince 1996 in charge of many ofthe 2,300 employee agency's dai-ry operations, heading the exten-sive reorganization of the depart-ment a few years ago and partic-ipating in other major planningand policy decisions.Bazzell made his way up thecivil service ranks from budgetand management analyst inhealth and social services to nat-ural resources budget specialistto administrative posts in theDepartment of Agriculture,Trade and Consumer Protection.He arrived at the DNR in1993 as planning and analysisdirector on budget, manage-ment, finance and licensingactivities.

In a significant way, Bazzellreflects how Wisconsin has

. changed in recent years in its cul-tural relationship to the out-doors, natural resources andenvironmentHe is a graduate of NorthDrtrision High School in Milwau-kee and- the son-of a family bro' ken by divorce. He did not grow- up with hunting, fishing and oth-xr outdoors activities as part ofhis experience, but, professestoday to love those pursuits.Bazzell occasionally huntsdeer, pheasants and other small

An urbanizing state mustwork at continuing its strong out-door traditions, he believes, andhe has a strong interest in teach-ing and encouraging youth toappreciate outdoors opportuni-ties.

Bazzell confesses as an adulthe has done less than he wouldlike. When he finds time, heenjoys hiking, hiking, canoeingand walleye fishing with a broth-er-in-law."I work too much." , helaughed. "I've spent so muchtime creating opportunities forothers that I haven't had time toenjoy them myself."

As secretary. Bazzell said hebelieves it is important for him toset an example by getting outmore.

• Retirements: The DNR faces theBaby Boom retirement surge with thesame concern as other agencies and theprivate sector. Former SecretaryGeorge Meyer will play a leading role intraining new and young employees,inviting senior and recently retiredemployees to help. A "LeadershipAcademy" for managerial staff andtechnical training program will seek topass down the department's institution-al memory and cultural history as wellas everyday skills.• Property acquisition: Meyer wasproud in his tenure the DNR acquiredhundreds of thousands of acres ofland,water and other resources for preserva-tion and recreational use including pur-chases of historically enormous size inrecent yean. Bazzell said the string will

continue "I think we will be seeing a mix olboth" large and smaller acquisitions, hepredicted, through the renewed Stew-ardship Program and in cooperationwith nonprofit groups and local gov-ernments.The agency is collecting suggestions

for meeting future resource needsthrough what is called the Land LegacyProject, holding public hearings in 11communities this month and next.• Vision: Bazzell said he and topmanagers have prepared a list of priori-ties that they will publicize soon. As forhis vision of his own leadership hepledged to be "a strong leader" whoruns the department in collaborationwith others and pursues stated priori-ties vigorously.

THE POST-CRESCENTYOUR CONTACT

Amy Pelishek, news editor920-993-1000, ext 286e-mail: pcnews@smgpo.gannett.comTUESDAY, FEBRUARY 20, 2001 • C-2

Wisconsin's Best Newspaper

Release of Fox cleanup plan faces delayBy Peter RebhahnFor The Post-Crescent

GREEN BAY - Administra-tive changes at the state and fed-eral levels could slow the long-awaited release of a cleanupplan for the Fox River.George Meyer, former secre-tary of the state Department ofNatural Resources, said lastmonth he expected to releasethe plan in March. But EdLynch, DNR cleanup projectmanager, said Monday thatchanges at the helm withinDNR and .the federal Environ-mental Protection Agency make

DNR leadership change likely to bump report date past Marcha March release iffy."Our objective has alwaysbeen to get it out as soon as pos-sible, with the administrationsunderstanding what we're send-ing out," Lynch said. "But it maytake some time to educate boththe state administration and thefederal administration."At issue is a comprehensiveplan for dealing with polychlori-nated biphenyls, or PCBs,released to the river by sevenarea paper mills in the 1950s,'60s and '70s. The chemicals

cause health problems.Gov. Scott McCallum tookoffice Feb. 1 and replaced Mey-er with Deputy Secretary Dar-rell Bazzell Feb. 6. Frank Lyons,the EPA's Chicago-based Region5 administrator, resigned withthe change of administrations inWashington. Lyons' successorhasn't been named.Lynch declined to specify adate for release of the cleanupplan, but said it would happen"in a couple months."Rebecca Katers, executive

director of the Green Bay-basedClean Water Action Council,expressed concern the changes.'could slow, work on the plan.But Lynch said the administra-tive switches |will have no effecton the ongoing work.Katers said the federalchanges are especially trouble-some "because, under the Rea-gan and Bush administrations,both the Superfund and (dam-age assessment) efforts werequite slow."Congress established the

Superfund Program in 1980 totarget the nation's worst-pollut-ed sites.The EPA has had the Fox Riv-er on its short list of candidatesfor Superfund cleanup for years.But the feds have said they won'timpose!a Superfund-led cleanupif the paper mills and state nego-tiate an acceptable plan.Lynch said his agency hadworked closely with EPA on thenearly : complete plan. "Ourintent is, we want to bring thisout with EPA." he said._____• Peter Rebhahn writes for theGreen Bay Press-Gazette.

10 Thursday, March 1, 2001

THE GREEN BAY NEWS-CHRONICLE OPINION Wednesday, February 28, 2001 11

r's PERSPECTIVE?Deal with Georgia-Pacific doesn't pass smell test

Clean Water Action Council (CWAC)recently held a hearing on the chump-

change $7 million settlement that our Depart-ment of Natural Resources (DNR)"wrenched" out of Fort James/Georgia-Pacif-ic (G-P), for the damage done to the FoxRiver, Green Bay, and Lake Michigan.CWAC held the hearing because our DNR nolonger represents the people of Wisconsin,though its charter demands just that. (This isone reason why we need our public inter-venor office brought back.)

The settlement will help the polluters whodumped the PCBs into the Fox River, andwho continue to dump tons of other pollutioninto the river every day, by funding the CatIsland "restoration project," which will be anew, dijA vu Kidney Island mess all overagain.

The meeting attracted about 50 peoplefrom all over our neck of the woods, includ-ing representatives of the business communi-ty, students, teachers, environmentalists,sportsmen and conservationists. We also hadthe ever-present industry spy from the FoxRiver Group, who we have seen so many

CurtAndersenFor The Green BayNews-Chronicle

$7 million is peanuts.The corporate execs who run

Georgia-Pacific have more moneythan that caught in the lint traps of

their clothes dryers. .times that she's almost like family.

Everyone thought that the $7 million wasa slap in the face, and we don't believe thatDNR mumbo-jumbo about that being the bestthey could do. We think it's peanuts. The cor-porate execs who run G-P have more moneythan that caught in the lint traps of their

clothes dryers.One person testified that we are sitting

next to one of the most precious resources onthe entire planet — the Great Lakes — andthat these corporations treat it like a garbagedump. One person mentioned that you rarelyhear anyone say, "Hey, let's go to Green Bayfor a vacation!" (It's true. You don't site aresort on the edge of a cesspool.) Anotherperson spoke of the exotic species of whiteperch, which are crowding out our belovedyellow perch, bur cannot be caught and soldfor pet food because they are too toxic forpets to eat. If not for;PCBs, netting and sell-ing White perch and carp could be a prof-itable industry here.

In trie last, two weeks, the communities of ,Howard and Bellevuc have registered theirdismay with the cheapo settlement. Both willhave to spend hundreds of millions of dollarsfor their share of a pipeline;that will bringdrinking water from Lake Michigan. Engi-neering studies have shown that the water inthe bay is too polluted to be used for drinkingwater, so the communities will be forced tospend millions to go to the big lake.

As an additional slap in the face, the pol-luting paper mills won't be paying for thenew pipeline, yet will now have the ground-water to themselves. The mill uses hundredsof thousands of gallons of well water daily.This is another example of corporate welfare.These are our tax dollars. When will we hearfrom taxpayer groups when these issues conicup?

This sett lement is the economic equ iva lentof leaving a few bucks on the dresser for"services rendered."

You can express your concerns about l i repaltry settlement by writing to: Greg Hil l ,NRDA Coordinator, WDNR, P.O. Box 7 9 2 1 ,Madison, WI 53707-7921 . Give the DNRyour own reasons why this is too little moneyfor the terrific damages done to this pricelesstreasure.

Curt Andersen is a lifelong resident of theGreen Bay area and a Vietnam-era Navy veteranHe owns a small business and is on the board olthe Clean Water Action Council. His columnappears here Wednesdays. Opposing or supple-mental viewpoints are welcome. Write to him viae-mail at curtandersen@milwpc.com.

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NR suspends cleanup deal with paper company http://vww.jsonline. com; news/statc'martM/dnr 1403 1 30 la.asp?fonriar=prmi

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>NR suspends cleanup deal with paper companyMEG JONESthe Journal Sentinel staff

st Updated: March 13, 2001

proposed $7 million settlement with Fort James Corp. for projects to repair damage to the Fox River has been suspended toow more time for discussion by state and federal officials, authorities announced Tuesday.e period for public comment, which was scheduled to end March 21, will be extended to June 20.;anwhile, the extra time will give the state Department of Natural Resources, the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service, tribal leadersd other parties a chance to come to an agreement on how best to handle damages done to the Fox River by Fort James, nowrt of Georgia Pacific Corp., and other papermakers.e damage issue is separate from the cleanup of Fox River sediment contaminated with PCBs from paper companies. The<JR is working on a final cleanup proposal that is expected to be released in May.rt James and DNR officials in November reached a tentative settlement calling for the papermaker to provide $51 million>rth of recreational resources, restored wetlands and improved fisheries to the state for damage done to the river by pollution>m its plant in Green Bay. In exchange, the state agreed not to sue the company for damages arising from the release of PCBso the river.ider that proposed agreement, Fort James actually would spend only $7 million on specific projects in the Green Bay area butt credit, under a complicated formula, for repairing $51 million in resource damage.>wever, federal and tribal officials have been putting together their own plan for Fort James and five other papermakers to pay• damages.e state's proposed agreement must be approved by a federal judge. And the U.S. Department of Justice has already told thete that it cannot ask a federal judge to approve an agreement between Fort James and the state until the federal governmentikes a decision regarding cleanup of the river.ice the state was working out its own tentative deal with Fort James and federal and Oneida tribal officials were working on:ir own plan, Tuesday's announcement means all interested parties will work on the same plan.'s clearly being done with the idea if we can bring more people to agree on (a) settlement it'll be a lot easier on everybody inms of the court process," said Bruce Baker, of the the DNR's water division..ker said a decision with Fort James and the state and federal governments could be used as a boilerplate for agreements withicr papermakers.om the federal government's standpoint, the state's tentative agreement for damages didn't include any input from the U.S.>h & Wildlife Service.rungs were going on a little bit too quickly and without complete coordination among the trustees." said Charlie Wooley,distant regional director for the U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service based in Minneapolis.Fort James spokeswoman said the company is encouraged by the decision by state, federal and tribal officials to discuss thessibility of a joint settlement.: extends the schedule that we all believed we were on for settling the state claims, but we understand the reasoning behind theite's request of us for the extension." said Kathleen Bennett, vice president for resource stewardship.

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JS Online: DNR suspends cleanup deal with paper company http://www.jsonline.com/news/'state/mar01/dnrl4031301aasp?format=prin

The Oneida tribe is pleased with the state's decision to suspend action on the Fort James settlement, said Tom Nelson, anenvironmental specialist for the tribe. The tribe didn't favor the proposed agreement because tribal officials felt the state and thecompany didn't assess enough damages.Paper mills released PCBs into the river when they were making and recycling carbonless copy paper. In 1977, the federalgovernment banned the chemicals, which studies link to cancer, reproductive problems and poor mental development inchildren.

Appeared in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel on March 14, 200 1 .

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