MIDLAND -- Kim Kent is a 35-year homeowner who knows a good structure when she sees one.
"I'm comfortable here,” said Kent, who lives on Bay City Road. Her home is one of the 50 the Dow Chemical Company is offering to purchase as part of its dioxin resolution plan. But Kent decided to stay put and have the company clean up her soil instead.
"I've retired here, and it's in the right level for me to live in expense-wise rather than going to an apartment which would be more expensive."
Dow is offering to test and replace the soil on hundreds of other properties in the Dioxin Resolution Area - a total of about 1,700 acres.
"This is an investment in the future of this community,” explained Dan Wyant, director of the Michigan Department of Environmental Quality.
Properties that test above an EPA-approved level of 250 parts per trillion of dioxins will be offered cleanup and re-landscaping. If the property owner chooses to forgo cleanup, Dow will set aside money for future work.
Sandy Rosenbrock, who lives in her childhood home, says it's the responsible thing for the company to do.
"I’ll have them test the soil, find out what we need to have done, and move on."
Dow officials will submit their plan to the DEQ, which will be followed by a 45-day public comment period. Homeowners eligible to sell their property need to sign up for the program by June 30. Soil sampling and cleanup will begin in June and remediation work for the 2012 season is slated to end in mid-October.
