Public health and wildlife are threatened by toxic PCB chemical contamination in the Fox River, in Northeast Wisconsin.   The river must be fully cleaned as soon as possible.  It is the  most significant source of PCBs in the Great Lakes region.

• The PCBs were dumped in the river by 7 paper mills.

• In 1986, the DNR started the Remedial Action Plan process to plan a cleanup.

• From 1991 to 1997, Gov. Thompson received $155,000  from donors in the Paper Industry,   and another $2,778,828 from Paper Industry allies and related interests.

• Thompson fixed the game on the Fox River Cleanup to favor those campaign donors:

1.  From 1989 to 1992, DNR prepared to sue the polluters.   Thompson stopped this enforcement, and in 1992 formed the Fox River Coalition, dominated by the paper industry, to find "voluntary solutions."

2.  Thompson's DNR cancelled several public health programs and downplayed the fish    and duck eating advisories.   Human health effects of PCBs along the Fox River have not been studied.

3.  In 1995, Thompson eliminated the Wisconsin Public Intervenor Office, which was investigating actions of Thompson's DNR on this issue.

 4.  In 1997, Thompson promoted a $10 million binding contract between the DNR and polluters.  This Sweetheart Deal corrupts the DNR, limiting its ability to protect the public.
 
a.  Forced DNR to accept questionable work from industry consultants.  These consultants, who usually work for polluters, will be allowed to write the bulk of the state's risk assessments and the state's final comprehensive cleanup plan for the river.   The leading industry consultant, ReTec, has direct financial ties to Fort James Corporation and other paper industries, which constitutes a serious Conflict of Interest.

b.  Legitimizes the biased work of industry consultants, who will fight with federal experts on technical and economic issues, which will increase the litigation risk and undercut the federal Superfund case.

b.  Capped the industry liabilities at the Fort James Hotspot in the Fox River at $7 million, giving the public an inadequate cleanup at the worst hotspot in the river.

c.  Left the DNR without control over how the $10 million cleanup fund is spent.

d.  Helped the polluters develop a positive media spin, while minimizing the probability of a comprehensive cleanup.

e.  Duplicates the federal Natural Resource Damage Assessment (NRDA) process.

g.  "Least cost" is the prime goal --- so sediments will be landfilled without detoxification, which favors landfill interests, who gave $138,485 to Thompson's campaigns.   This only shifts the environmental liabilities to other parts of the state.

h.  The demonstrations projects provided for in the $10 million deal don't solve the problem.  The $10 million cap represents less than 1% of estimated cleanup costs for the entire river.

• Restore the political independence of the DNR by making the DNR Secretary a position which answers to the seven-member Natural Resources Board consisting of citizens appointed by the Governor and Legislature, serving staggered 6-year terms.

• Restore the Wisconsin Public Intervenor Office to watchdog actions of government agencies, and intervene, if necessary, to protect public rights in natural resources.

• Reform campaign financing to provide only public funding and eliminate donations from   private special interests.

• Strengthen enforcement and funding of Wisconsin's sediment cleanup programs, following these principles:

• The polluters must provide upfront funds to characterize contaminated sites and study cleanup options.   These funds and studies must be under the direct control of the DNR staff, not the polluters.

• The polluters must pay the full cost of studies and cleanup, not taxpayers.
 
• Site studies and cleanup must be timely, not delayed over several years.

• Remedies must fully protect public and wildlife health.
 
• Remedies must include permanent solutions, such as detoxification treatments, not simply dig and dump landfilling, creating potential problems elsewhere.
 
• Conflicts of interest between the polluters and cleanup consultants must be strictly prohibited.
 
• Maintain and strengthen federal programs, including Superfund and NRDA, to ensure rapid cleanup of contaminated sites in cases where local and state governments fail to act.