Fox River cleanup begins again after legal sidetrack

Dredging resumed on the Fox River Monday morning for the first time all season following a federal appeals court denial late last week of NCR’s request for a temporary stay of execution. Cleanup crews were on the river last week to mobilize equipment and take measurements. They technically had until Thursday before beginning cleanup but began early following the denial of the temporary stay. NCR is under federal court order to remove and clean a minimum of 660,000 cubic yards of sediment this summer from the Fox River. U.S. District Judge William Griesbach issued the order earlier this month even as legal wrangling continues over which paper companies will be held financially responsible for deposits of toxic polychlorinated biphenyls in the river. NCR appealed Griesbach’s ruling and asked him for a temporary stay of execution pending an outcome of the appeal, and Griesbach denied that. NCR then appealed that denial. The 7th District Court of Appeals on Friday rejected NCR’s appeal for a temporary stay, but the overall appeal of Griesbach’s ruling remains on the appellate court’s calendar, where oral arguments are scheduled for June 4. Full-scale sediment remediation work must take place five days a week, 24 hours a day, through at least Nov. 9, according to Griesbach’s ruling. He issued the order at the request of the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency and state Department of Natural Resources after Appleton Papers, which had majority interest in the cleanup operation, ordered a work stoppage to try to force other area paper companies to help pay for it. Griesbach since has ruled Appleton Papers is not federally liable for cleanup, although it remains contractually responsible for 60 percent of NCR’s expenses. NCR now has sole interest in the company doing the cleanup but continues to seek compensation from other paper companies along the Fox River.