Dow agrees to $77M environmental settlement in Michigan

DETROIT – Dow Chemical Co. and government officials have reached an estimated $77 million settlement to compensate for pollution by its plant in Midland, Michigan.

Federal and state officials announced the deal Friday.

The Dow plant released dioxins and other hazardous substances into rivers and their watersheds for decades after opening in 1897.

The contaminants harmed fish, invertebrates, birds and mammals. They prompted warnings about touching soil and eating wild game and fish in some areas.

Under the deal, Dow will fund fish spawning and habitat improvements; restoration of thousands of acres (hectares) of wetlands and other wildlife living spaces; and creation of public nature areas.

The settlement is separate from an ongoing Dow-funded cleanup of dioxin contamination along the Tittabawassee and Saginaw rivers and Lake Huron’s Saginaw Bay