The Dow Chemical Company, Midland County
On January 3, 2006, the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ)
reached a settlement with The Dow Chemical Company (Dow), a chemical
manufacturer located in Midland, Michigan. The settlement stems from an
anonymous complaint received on January 4, 2005, alleging that Dow had
implemented a new computerized hazardous waste characterization system,
adopted from a Dow facility in Texas, which did not comply with the Michigan
hazardous waste regulations or the Midland facility’s hazardous waste operating
license. In response to a similar complaint to Dow management, Dow conducted
an internal investigation that resulted in the submission of two notifications of
noncompliance to the DEQ and a change in procedures to bring the
computerized waste characterization system into compliance with Michigan law
and the operating license. The settlement also resolves allegations by the DEQ
that Dow violated the operating license by failing to timely report to the DEQ
environmental monitoring data relating to off-site corrective action.
Dow has agreed to pay $69,998 in civil fines to settle the allegations and to pay
$7,000 to the state for partial reimbursement of the costs of investigation and
enforcement. Dow also agreed to submit a report detailing how Dow remedied
the violations it self-reported concerning the generation and retention of disposal
records, specifically, records for wastes sent to on-site facilities and the results of
Dow’s review of historic waste characterizations. Investigations to date have not
found that any waste was treated or disposed of improperly as a result of the
adoption of the new computerized waste characterization system.