BKEJWANONG STANDS FAST!
Bkejwanong (Walpole Island First Nation) is going to stand firm in
its resolve to promote zero discharge of any toxic material into the
St. Clair River. This follows the Ministry of Environment and Energy
(MOEE) decision to allow International Chemical Industries (ICI) to
dump 750 million gallons of "pond water" into the St. Clair River.
The pond water is what is left over from ICI's fertilizer production
plant which has not functioned since the 1980's. ICI claims that the
pond water is safe and will not effect people or animals.
Walpole Island claims that any discharge of any materials is in
violation of a "zero discharge" policy. MOEE and the Michigan Department
of Environment Quality (MDEQ) agree with ICI's findings in that the
controlled release will not harm the environment. The discharge
will take place over a period of 4.5 years.
An Action Group has been formed to continue to fight against the ICI
discharge. It is known as "PURE - People United for River Ecosystems".
Some fellow American communities will be working with PURE. The
focus for PURE is to take the focus from Walpole Island and include
other down river communities along the banks of the St. Clair River
on BOTH sides of the border.
For more information, please contact Darren Wrightman at the Department
of Economic Development, Walpole Island First Nation at 519-627-0746
or evenings at 519-627-7227.
(NOTE: this article provided by Marcia Peters - petersmk@web.net)